


Shimmering lights

by MoonlessSkye



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-13 07:54:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18027764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlessSkye/pseuds/MoonlessSkye
Summary: Second year of Beacon is done, leaving team RWBY with time for summer plans. Yang has figured out a plan which seems to suit the team's intentions just perfectly. Just one more mission before vacation is all the team needs for enough Lien to set off!





	1. Yang is the sun

**Author's Note:**

> Heya peeps, new author here with my first fic. Leave feedback as you will, though remember whether it is negative or positive, it won't do me any good if you don't explain your reasoning. Thanks!

"HEEEELLOOUUU!" The walking sunshine burst through the dorm room as the rest of team RWBY was still in bed, groaning on their Saturday morning. "What`s wrong with you, you barbaric party animal, do you not have any humane features left in that brain of yours!?" The fair Heiress groaned through her headache. The gang had been up late last night celebrating their starting summer vacation, and despite Weiss` protests and usual stubborn attitude, the party had been held with much more "fuel" than a champagne glass per participant. Despite her friends, she still hadn`t had any intent on drinking past her rather strict and civilized upbringing, it was only because of Ruby`s intolerably cute demeanor that night which had convinced her to, just for once, take more than a glass. Or two. This, quite obvious to her now, had been a poor decision made under the influence of already a glass of the chosen poison and, even more compellingly, puppy dog eyes and a  _ very _ convincing hand rubbing her lower back. Blushing to the memory even through her current illness, Weiss could only scoff at herself before falling silent, noting that even her own voice was too much for her sensitive head to handle at this moment. "Awww does the lil` sugar cheek have a hangover? Want me to bring you a Ruby plushie to hug and make it better?" Teased the yellow maned queen of coolness. Yang was no stranger to late nights of drinking, this previous one not even being near her worst ones. To her, this morning was merely one well rested. The rest of her team though, were clearly down for the count. "Ugh, what are you even saying, just shut up and let me be." was all Weiss could utter back. She couldn`t understand why Ruby was supposed to make her headache go away as the insufferably cheerful and loud blond implied. Still, just imagining a chibi Ruby plushie, for whatever reason, made her cheeks turn just a tad red. As they did, she felt another wave of illness take over as more blood rushed to her already aching head, causing the usually oh-so-graceful Schnee to turn to her side and let out a rather unfemine "hurggh" out of her system.

Meanwhile, Ruby was listening in and felt she needed to stop Yang before she could cause further damage. "Sis...th-that`s a bit.." Was all the blushing Ruby could manage to utter through her sleepy and flustered stasis. While it was obvious to everyone except Weiss, it still embarrassed Ruby to hear anyone so much as even hint that the two shared feelings. Yang couldn`t help but laugh at this, she loved teasing her baby sister about Weiss after noticing both of them developing feelings for each other. Even more so, Weiss` apparent obliviousness to the whole thing made it all the more juicier as Ruby would be embarrassed for both herself  _ and _ Weiss. "A bit..what? A bit as in too little, not enough?" The pun meister and eternal twister of intent perked up at her sister`s unfinished sentence. Yang wasn`t the sharpest of pencils when it came to writing accurate facts on test sheets, but words and their implications she had mastered from an early age as those were her only weapons against anything and everything before learning to punch harder than a frenzied Ursa. A born fighter, in all forms.

 

"Don`t tease her too much, you don`t want to spend the next hour cleaning up the mess it would cause if you made Weiss too ill to contain all of last night." A voice of reason was heard from on the lower bunk bed to the right, as Blake, though weary and rather willing to stay beneath the blankets, was still capable of focusing her mind to reading, stopped to give her comment. Blake hadn`t had nearly as much as the rest of the crew, mainly thanks to her ability to slip most of her own drinks, ones Yang had poured her, back to the grinning face of the blond through a series of clever maneuvers. A simple hum of agreement was all Yang would voice out this time. "Anyway, you seem to have something worthwhile to tell us." Blake continued,　curious to see what had caused Yang`s sudden and loud return to their room. While Yang was one for pranks and generally loud for no reason, Blake also knew the loving mother of the team wouldn`t tease her teammates like so during a time of recovery unless there was something important in the works of her mind.

"There`s my Blakey!" beamed Yang before continuing, the comment causing a small smile on the Faunus` face, hidden behind her book. Yang was happy they both read each other so well. "Well." Yang began, clearly a bit sorry, but nevertheless filled with her usual glee and upbeat glamour in her voice. "I know work is the  _ last _ thing ya`ll might be thinking of right now, but I`ve found a mission more than perfectly fit for a holiday plan!" There was silence, but clear disturbance in everyone`s mind. Why would Yang be bringing this up right now? Certainly, they all had just finished their second year, leaving them not only capable but also free to pick up missions as they pleased, yet the timing felt off. Yang went on. "Now, I know  _ some  _ of us have duties to attend to, nodding at Weiss even though the heiress couldn`t see her. “I figure we all could use a vacation to a more.. Southern destination." Blake`s ears perked up. She knew right away what Yang meant, they had been discussing on going to Menagerie for a week or two. Blake was the only one missing her family, as Ruby and Yang could visit their father whenever, and Weiss couldn`t care less about seeing her`s, resulting to everyone agreeing more than happily to going with her for a visit to Menagerie to both meet Blake`s parents and have some well deserved time off. The only thing stopping them was the distance and the Lien required to cover such a journey.

"And this mission just so as happens to be one of the more better paying ones, and not only that, located near the southern shore of Mistral. More specifically, a forest that the Schnee empire has just recently purchased some land from." Yang explained in detail and went on. "And, as I`m sure you all know, we`re paid for all expenses to get on-site as per any mission, so not only would this be the perfect opportunity to cover more than half the voyage, we would also get more than enough cash to both pay for the remaining trip AND get some spending money on our Kitty Cat`s home island!"

Blake got excited just thinking about the idea, but didn`t let it show just yet, only her cat ears perking up a bit more before easing back to their usual half-erected position. But must Yang call her such embarrassing names? She let it slide this time, as Weiss began to voice her complains once more.

"And just WHAT makes you think any of us, except maybe for you, would be able to get off right now and pack to start a full day trip to get there, much less fight off possible Grimm on the way?" Weiss managed to logically dissect despite her weary state. Yang smiled at this. "Well, I wouldn`t be as cruel as to ask you all to get up and ready on your day off; the reason I am asking this right now is because of submission deadline for the mission application. And also, we wouldn`t want anyone to snatch this opportunity from us, now would we? Remember we`re not the only team looking for holiday money.". Yang smiled bright at herself. She knew she had impressed her team as no more voices were raised in protest, and instead, she could feel her friends thinking and ohmygosh is that a really adorable smile on Blake`s face? This caused the blond to tilt her head a little and scratch it lightly, happy with her results so far.

“Okay, let us assume for just a moment that we all would go along with this… Idea.” Weiss put it, summoning all her strength to stop the room from turning just for a moment. “And let us be as gracious as to allow our imagination to assume it is  _ good _ idea.” She continued, feeling the need to specify. “When exactly are we to leave, and what else do we know about this mission other than that it happens to suits our holiday plans?”. As expected of the team`s second in command, Weiss was always there to gather and plan the facts, while Ruby, though excellent leader in combat, couldn`t hope to dream with the paperwork-like side of handling a team. “Always so serious Weiss.” Yang tossed at the still calculating mind of the princess. “As I mentioned, this one is a request from none other than the Schnee company, so the pay is higher than normal provided an experienced team of hunters and huntresses is set out.” Yang went on before getting to the work itself. “And it`s rather simple, we only need to investigate the area and, if only possible with the manpower they`ve estimated necessary, clear out all the Grimm we find. A seek and destroy if you will!” Yang was beeming, these sort of missions being her favourite as it meant she could let loose without being concerned about any delicate details. “We are probably not going to find anything more serious than packs of forest Grimm, such as ursa and beowolves. Maybe a King Taijitu or two. What they insist on is making a thorough job of eliminating, so that the already established road can be a safe journey for workers and such to get on with the construction. They want to build another quarry or something.”. Blake was listening intently, as the area was close the Menagerie and no doubt would they be importing workers from there for cheap. This caused her to frown a bit, but also understood there wasn`t anything they could do about it. The job would be taken care of regardless who picks it up, so they might as well use the opportunity. Ruby, however, was picking up on Yang`s enthusiasm. “Sis that sounds great! But when are we supposed to leave, I don`t think I can move until tomorrow afternoon..” Ruby had gotten up to sit and was trying to peer down from her upper bunk bed at Weiss, but felt ill as she did so. The idea of doing anything other than laze and eat cookies didn`t motivate her in the slightest. But cookies… The girl could feel her tummy move in agreement. She hadn`t had anything for breakfast other than her secret stash of chocolate chip cookies she had found under her mattress, and that had depleted too fast. “Right, don`t worry about that, we aren`t going to mobilize before Monday, so day after tomorrow as we would be transported by a Schnee airship because they want to give us their own briefing and they`re still setting up the details for that.” Yang had read up the description carefully, rather out of character for her Blake thought. She felt happy Yang would go so far as to properly  _ think  _ this through instead of submitting everyone in at the first sight of promise for easy money and free form brawling. “I am in. What about you guys?” Blake put out after listening intently and assessing it all in her mind. “Yeah let`s go bust some Grimm butt and hit the lovely beach of Menagerie! Oh oh, Blake! They have  _ the best _ ice cream in there too, right, right?!” Ruby had gotten excited thinking about the warm beach and world famous Menagerie ice cream. They had some exotic flavours there you couldn`t get anywhere else in Remnant, not at least without paying more than the young huntresses` allowance could afford. “Yes Ruby, they do.” Blake replied, amused at how easy it was to excite her leader, though grown still a child in many ways. “Hnng alright, if everyone else is going then I suppose I, too, must be willing to take part in this.” The heiress didn`t sound happy, especially since this had to do with the Schnee empire and no doubt would her dad know about her partaking in this mission. It would cause extra fuss with the airship crew and she hated having to deal with it. But yet, visioning Ruby messing about in her swimsuit, no doubt pulling her around and forcing her to do all kinds of unnecessary partakings on the beach crept a smile on her face. “Daydreaming about the southern sun already melting that heart of yours, Ice Queen?” Yang had noticed Weiss` expression soften as she had indulged in her daydreams. “Hmph, I merely thought it would be an excellent opportunity to look into the society of Menagerie as it is only common sense to familiarize oneself with the world and its people.” Weiss had come a long way from looking down on Faunus and was now making amends in leaps by showing genuine interest on their culture. This had made Blake happy and the two had long ago come to terms with their previous arguments. “So it`s settled then!” Yang let out a happy burst of her rays. “You guys sit tight while I go make the paperwork with professor Port on this, consider this a favour from your favourite holiday agent!” Yang winked and was gone as quickly as she had arrived. “I swear she is not human, no one can be that energetic all the time.” Weiss mumbled from her pillow she had sunk into. “Aww come on Weiss, it`s going to be fun! We`ll be together and get to meet Blake`s parents and sunbathe all our sore muscles!” Ruby tried to cheer her partner. She was already growing giddy just thinking about the ice cream that was promised to be waiting her. And maybe Weiss would also be there to share one with her and they could walk on the beach with the sunset and… Ruby`s thoughts trailed off and she grew a bit red on her cheeks before settling to just maybe take one small nap before thinking about the next most pressing thing on her mind; her stomach had stirred up from all this thinking of food.

  
And so the lazy day passed slowly with everyone mostly left to their own devices, Ruby pestering Weiss the whole afternoon trying to cheer her up and bringing all kinds of snacks and remedies to combat the girl`s ill feeling. This caused flustered reactions from the petite girl who, while appreciative of Ruby`s affection, couldn`t help but feel a bit embarrassed as the goofball was all over her and very touchy-feely, trying to discern her condition. Blake felt the atmosphere in the room turn a bit too rosy between the two, and decided to go out to read in the nice the afternoon sun. Ninjas of Love volume six had just come out and, Beacon`s library being one of the better ones in all of Vale, acquired it just the next week. Blake was so absorbed into one of the more steamy chapters that even her famed Faunus ears hadn`t picked up a certain creeping shadow approach her before it was too late. Her ears twitched just as Yang pounced behind the tree she was resting against, causing Blake to squeal a very out of character “Meep!” out of her. “Aww what a cute kitty I`ve found!” “Mind if I...drop in?” Yang teased with her terrible pun as she had crashed and leaned in over the shoulder of a startled Blake who instinctively was hiding her book between crossed legs and leaned over it with a groan on Yang`s awful humour. “Whatcha reading Blakey, must be good for you to not notice me~” The blond went on, being dead on as she very well knew surprising her partner was one of the more difficult achievements to accomplish. Blake had to fight her urge to slap this sudden intruder who had brought her immersion to an end. “Just some..material for..stuff.” Was all Blake could muster while trying to fight off Yang`s curiosity. “You seem awfully red for that to be any ol` text book~” Yang went on, playfully trying to pry Blake`s hands away from covering the girl`s secrecy. “Yang! I was enjoying my immersion in the moment and..” Blake was having a hard time recovering from the combination of her surprise, the lingering excitement of her book and the sudden but already declining annoyance at the upbeat blondie who was laughing as always for who knows what reason. She just couldn`t stay mad at Yang. “And~? Maybe I could be your next immersion.” Yang blinked teasingly but turning red at the same time, not really considering her words carefully there, giving Blake an edge in her reply: “Well you certainly have some  _ depth _ to immerse into I suppose.” She replied in a dry but cheeky tone, bringing Yang`s cheeks just a shade more towards red. “Erm I- what are you implying!” Yang stammered, Blake clearly enjoying her reaction. “Your infinitely fun personality of course, what else.” She cleverly continued, shooting her eyes against Yang`s who defiantly tried not to look away but failed and burst into another laugh, earning a chuckle from Blake as well. “So, what may I owe the pleasure to, I'm sure you had something on your mind other than disturbing my reading moment.” Blake questioned. She was happy, she could finish her book later and just entertain herself with whatever idea the always so unpredictable blondie had on her mind. “Ahaha, yeah! I was wondering…” Yang trailed, trying to collect herself. “You know, with us departing on Monday, leaving our whole tomorrow free and it's not like we have that much packing to do and such..” She went on, not getting to the point which felt a bit unlike Yang who was always about that instant action. Blake was listening with curiosity, only giving an encouraging nod. “Right, so uh, with the whole Menagerie thing coming up and such, I was wondering if you could help me out picking something nice to bring to your parents.” Blake was more than surprised this. Her ears perked up at the thought. “Aww Yang! That's so nice of you! What brought this up though?” Yang was happy at Blake`s reaction, but felt a little embarrassed still. “Ah you know, first impressions and such.. I wouldn't want them to think badly of your friends, and I figured getting them something nice couldn't go too wrong in that y`know?” Yang was rambling but Blake thought only well of it, finding it rather cute how usually the overly confident brawler was actually coming to her in something as simple as this. “I`d be happy to help you pick out something. So, are we going to the city tomorrow then? That`s just great, I can pick up some things there, too, since we are going on vacation after all.” Blake thought, then remembering an item on her shopping list that made her expression a little difficult for Yang to decipher. “Oh yeah? Such as?” Yang asked amused with the Faunus squirming reaction as it was clearly something she was struggling with. “Oh. Uh. Well, let`s say you can help me out with that in return, but uh..” Blake`s expression hinting more of embarrassment than anything now. “It`s that.. Well, it`s been ages since I was last home, and seeing how we`re probably going to spend some time in the beach..” she paused for just a moment before sighing out “I need a new swimsuit, my old one hopelessly too small and I don`t really know what would suit me.. I don't want anything...too skimpy if you know what I mean.” Yang couldn`t help but smile at this, getting excited for tomorrow more so than she had originally hoped to. “Leave it to me!” She exclaimed. It was going to be a wonderful day tomorrow.


	2. Preparing their hearts

Sun had set and risen, bringing a cheerful morning to all of team RWBY. Ruby was getting up from her bed in her ladybug pyjamas, hopping down from her bunkbed and slipped on her capybara slippers Weiss had gotten her. She adored them, more so after hearing they`re just about the friendliest creatures on the planet. Weiss could sometimes be sweet in the most surprising of ways. Gazing behind over her shoulder, the Heiress had already neatly made her bed and was out somewhere. Equally was true for the other two, though Yang`s bed was a mess as always, whereas Blake only had a book peering beneath her pillow in her otherwise tidy bunk. Ruby loved her team members, each of them with their quirks but all so kind and reliable. But why had they all gone out and not wake their leader? This was almost insulting, though she couldn't truly be mad for being given the lovely chance to sleep in on a Sunday. First would come breakfast, then a search for her missing friends!

 

Meanwhile, Weiss was in the library, looking up the most common creatures known to southern Mistral. While Yang had, for once, done a good job at filling in the team with mission details, doing further research had probably not even crossed the brawler's mind. Weiss took missions seriously, even more so than her tests. Living down a few errors on her tests was doable, but one on a battlefield could mean there was never retaking it. She was sipping her coffee while flipping the pages, taking even notes and trying to assess from statistics just how big of an enemy group they would be facing. Perhaps it would be worth it to go ask professor Port about this, though painful to sit through his endless boasting and hunter stories, there was no questioning the man`s first hand experience on Grimm. Just as Weiss was done with her books, contemplating whether to go get lunch before or after visiting the professor, she could hear a familiar set of boots eagerly approaching her through the quiet halls of the library. Ruby had been first to the cafeteria in her search for her missing teammates, hoping to find either Yang chowing down on lunch or Weiss enjoying coffee there, but after finding neither she decided library would be the second most likely place for her partner - or Blake might be there, and she would probably know where the rest of them had gone. To Ruby`s delight, she found Weiss sitting alone with her coffee and a stack of books. As she approached, Ruby couldn't help but think how graceful the Ice Queen looked, distant, collected and cool. Since they had began working as partners, Ruby had always looked up to Weiss in her intellect and motivated study patterns, near opposite to herself. This partially thanks to her upbringing, being close to her headstrong troublemaker big sister and mostly due to her own nature of being a bit of an airhead. Weiss seemed alluring to Ruby, for her she was like a badass princess who had liberated herself from the ivory tower that the Schnee empire was, ending up in Beacon to prove herself to the world. Lost in her daydream, she ended up being the one surprised as she heard Weiss exclaim “Uuh, Earth to Ruby, are you OK? You seem… Distracted. Did something happen?” Small concern in her usual strict voice, Weiss thought Ruby had come here looking for her but was surprised as the silver eyed girl simply stared at her but not really seeming to actually register her presence. “Oh!” Ruby yelped, her thoughts being blown back to her heart and a small fluster risen in their stead, Ruby soon recovered to her babbling and bubbly self. “Weiss! I was looking for everyone, I woke up to find our dorm empty and I was wondering where did everyone go without their glorious leader!” Ruby half-jokingly bantered, getting giddy just being alone with Weiss. She didn`t understand it herself, but she found her endearing despite how cold the Ice Queen might come off at times. Ruby had learned there was always some rational and genuine concern behind her words, growing to respect and even...love that side of her. “Are you sure..you`re ok?” The now standing heiress asked again, as Ruby seemed to trail off somewhere in her head. She knew Ruby was quite the daydreamer, but losing track of herself amidst a conversation was rare even for her. “Oh! Yeah! 100%! Sooo… What are you doing here, all cooped up? I would have thought even you were done with studies, you know, what with the finals being past us.” Ruby came back with a slight tint of red creeping on her cheeks, having lost herself thinking about Weiss twice in such a short notice already. “Well. Unlike some, I think every mission is potentially deadly and challenging, so I thought it good to do a little research on the area we are going. It certainly won’t hurt to gather all the data possible on what we might be facing.” She recited her reasonings to their leader, partially implying slight mocking to their leader and her sister, as no doubt, neither had no intent of doing such work before diving in head first. Honestly, how did Ruby ever become the leader, surely professor Ozpin understood that no matter how able at combat, many battles were decided long before they were waged… Ruby, looking a little sorry tilted her head and brought her hand to tickle her nose in embarrassment, as her partner was right in that knowing your enemy is important. “Ahh well you know, I kind of thought about what Yang said about it probably not being that serious, with the Schnee company already having looked into it and putting out the requirement they did..” Ruby tried to reason her actions - or lack of them. “They’ve always kind of gone a bit upscale in what they request, being ready pay a little extra for a job completed fast rather than skimping out in payout” She went on with her reasoning, this only earning her a sigh from Weiss. Ruby wasn’t wrong either, but still, was trusting others unaffected by her life ending or not truly the best decision their leader could come up with... “An- and! I have you.” Ruby smiled, a little embarrassed to say as much but meant it wholly. She had always been able to count on Weiss to be on point with her intel, and not once had she let her team down. Weiss blushed at this, her understanding of Ruby`s words possibly slightly different from how she may have implied them. “W-well!” “I naturally do keep up with the rigorous discipline I grew to embrace and apply to all aspects in life.” Weiss` eyes now glancing away from Ruby`s genuine and warm smiling eyes, finding them too endearing to face head on right now. Honestly this girl said the weirdest and cutest things every so often, leaving her unable to quite understand what she might’ve meant. “That’s my partner! I am so happy to have you in our team, Weiss you`re so dependable!” Ruby suddenly found herself embracing the slightly shorter girl, pushing her towards her chest and bringing her head well over her shoulder. Startled by the sudden action, Weiss blushed, partially due to the suffocating manner she was being held, her muffled sounds begging Ruby to let her go. “You dolt I can’t breathe in your…” The heiress silenced her final few words, resorting to instead tapping Ruby`s back signaling she needed air. “Sorry Weiss I..” Ruby took a step back, equally flustered as the girl in front of her was. “Heehee, that just came over me somehow, you know, when you see a reaaally cute puppy or something and wanna hug it y`know” Ruby regressed back to her younger self when she mimicked the slang her older sister used. “...Quite, yes. Anyway…” Weiss breathed, letting her filler words buy her a few extra breaths to steady her heart from the sudden display of affection she just experienced. “Ahem. Why yes, this only serves as an excellent opportunity for the both of us to go partake in the wisdom professor Port might indulge us on the mission up ahead.” Weiss felt proud of her wording and how professional she had sounded in her head, dealing with the moment of awkwardness they both faced and instead turning the topic to something more productive. Ruby`s reaction, however, left a lot to hope for. “Uugghh, how can you seriously suggest that just after we got on vacation we should volunteer to go and listen to his ramblings?” Ruby exhaled her already growing exhaustion with just the simple thought of having to face Port`s famous boastful speeches of his and his lineages many accomplishments and heroic deeds. “Well” Weiss began, readying another one of her logical layouts. “While he may indeed be...unneededly wordy about his encounters with Grimm, he still remains a respected professor with vast first-hand experience on the matter, and I would trust him to know more specifically, and by heart mind you, what we might be facing up around the southern parts of Mistral.” Weiss took a breath, observing the dark haired girl growing weary in expression but listening. This was enough for Weiss who continued. “And as such, I only think it natural we ought to use his superior experiences to our advantage when tackling this next mission.” Weiss concluded. She could still see some doubt in the silver eyes which, while looked into Weiss` blue eyes with respect and something she couldn't quite discern, found still her partner to be rather unwilling to follow through with the proposal. So she decided on another kind of approach, this one stemming from somewhere she wasn't quite as sure of, but nevertheless voiced it. “And besides.. I..would not want to see any of us hurt. If preparing beforehand can dispel the chances of getting injured even by a little, I find that effort worth making.” She found this emotional line often more effective with their leader, though also much more difficult one to voice. Weiss did, however, feel surprisingly better having said it outloud. Many called her Ice Queen, but in truth, she loved her teammates. They were more than simple friends or, as she had selfishly thought during her first year, tools to succeed in her own goals of asserting superiority in the name of Schnee. Ruby`s face grew more bright and relaxed hearing this, and soon she replied with a gentle and giddy tone: “Awww Weiss you ball of fluff if that's how it is of course we should go and hear what “superior experiences” we might hear from him.” Ruby mimicking Weiss` serious tone for those few words, earning a mean look with a wry smile from her partner. Weiss had come a long way in understanding when others around her meant only good when joking about her serious attitude, and was right in placing this as one of such occasions.

 

Out in the sun, a certain yellow&black couple was strolling down the busy streets of Vale, or as one might rather put it, Yang was being dragged towards the fish market with a strong pull from her partner. Many street food vendors cooing for customers, `Only the finest of the sea!` `Cheapest in the market!` `Care to try a bit of squid! Fresh from this morning!` - the bustling was warm and all looked tempting, but Blake knew where she was headed. They had skipped breakfast and come down here extra early to have a fresh bowl of tuna Blake knew she`d find for cheap. It had been Ruby who showed the place to her originally during their first year, but after that she`d come here often, alone or with the others. Come to think of it, this might have been the first time she and Yang went there just the two of them. Humming to herself, Blake was glowing with her good mood. “Gee Blake, I don't think I`ve seen you quite this enthusiastic about anything before! Even with your books, it's more like content happiness, but now you`re radiating it!” Yang wasn't used to being the one to be pulled and outshone in her positivity, but felt only happy about it as she got to experience this from the usually so quiet Blake. “Well, it IS a lovely day and we`re leaving to Menagerie soon. And not only that…” Blake`s tone grew a hint deeper, almost dramatic. “They have two for one deal today!” The Faunus voice rising along with her excitement as they turned the corner and she saw the sign with not too big of a queue either. Yang laughed at that. “Happy to see this side from the usual bookworm. So, what`s on the menu, kitty?” Yang teased with a grin, knowing perfectly well the place they had arrived at. She had grown up here and knew the streets well enough to walk them blind. “Only the finest tuna of Vale! Come get some before we run out!” Boomed the vendor before Blake could even think of replying anything cheeky to her partner. The two lined up, earning a wink from the stallman as he recognized them both. It didn`t take long for the crowd to dissolve just enough to fit in two hungry girls that merely had to nod to order the deal of the day. Paying up front, as it kept it easier to keep track of business, the two handed in their Lien and then continued in their happy banter. “So.” Yang began. “About that present. Practical or ornamental?” Blake giggled at how serious Yang could sound over a gift. “Either will do. But really, they have everything they need so perhaps something nice you can only get from here would do.” Blake didn't want to disclose her parents owned the biggest house in all of Menagerie, being the village chief's daughter and all. As such, they had everything. Well… Except their daughter.. Blake grew a little sad just thinking about it, but before she had enough time to start brooding about it, Yang beamed again “Great! Ornamental stuff means I can make it be something about us!” Blake gave Yang a weird look. “Uh. Oh! Ahaha, not us as in us but like us and uuhh ehehe I suck at explaining don't I.” Yang was trying to sway around with her arms to convey the different meanings between her words, getting a rather amused expression out of Blake who now understood what was being implied. “Right. Something from the whole team.” Blake helped her smiling. “But if that's what you were aiming at right from the start, why not ask everyone to help with ideas instead of just me?” The sound of the plates clattering interrupted the two as fresh tuna had appeared within fork`s reach. Though distracting, Blake wanted to hear what Yang had to say. She let Yang know as much with her stare. “Well uh. You know how Weiss and Ruby are.. This is the first day of the vacation they`re not stuck in bed and we`re already leaving on a mission tomorrow. I figured it would be nice to give them a day to themselves.” Yang winked, surprised at her improvised explanation as her true intention was definitely more selfish. She wanted a day off with Blake, but having spun this around, she felt it equally true. “Well aren`t you quite the wingman.” Blake laughed . “Oh I do hope you mean wing..Yang!” The blondie “corrected” with her pun, earning an eye roll before Blake dug into her bowl of tuna and ohmygodthiswasgood. The two ate in happy silence before Yang spoke again: “I think I just got the best idea I`ve had in a while!”. Blake`s ears perked, excited to hear what this might be. ““What is it?” Blake cut in, eager to know what was brewing in that unpredictable mind“Remember that trip we made on one of our longer weekends just last month? You know when we were all getting sick of cramming for the finals, and we decided to hit the road for a few days. “Yeah, we went to the forest nearby Emerald Forest which was kept trimmed of Grimm by the researchers there.” “Why?” Blake didn't see where this was going. “Well, just when were leaving, Velvet snapped a great group picture of us from her dorm window on the second floor, and she sent me a copy of it.” Yang pulled out her Scroll and the picture she showed Blake got her to first smile, then burst out laughing remembering what had happened. Ruby had somehow managed to fit Zwei in one of Weiss` luggages, but of course the poor dog wouldn't settle for sitting in there and burst through it, causing everything to spill. Cleaning it up caused yet another delay and a series of insults from Weiss, but they all had had a great time during the trip nevertheless. This was a great picturing capturing the goofiness and warmth her whole team radiated. “So! I was thinking… I know this great painter guy who could make this into a bit bigger of a presentation of us and... Maybe they would like it?” Yang asked with her eyes examining Blake`s as they began to quiver a little and without a word the Faunus turned to Yang and embraced the sweet girl. “Woah, Blake!” Yang yelped, but returned the gesture and brought her hands to embrace the girl. “Yang it is a beautiful idea. Let`s do it. I could not have thought of anything better myself, ever.” “You`re the best partner I could have ever hoped for.” Yang was surprised by the sudden display of affection, but took it all in her heart and felt it warm. “I- wow I didn't expect it would make you this happy but.. Gee Blakey I am happy for you!” As they left their embrace a small silent moment was shared between the two just looking at each other smiling. They finished eating soon after and then headed for “This painter guy” as Yang had put it.

 

“Hnngg listen here Yang, you can`t just expect I am a robot you come and put a coin in and I get the job done in an hour or two.” “Oh come on, that's nothing like how I implied! Of course you`d do it for free since you owe me for saving your butt from Torchwick like what, three times now?” “Ugh. That blasted guy and his crooks always target me just because I happen to be the nephew of the owner of that dust shop. Figuring they could blackmail the old man to lower the security with me…” “So you`ll do it?” “...haah I guess I do owe you. But seriously, by tomorrow morning? And at that size?!” “I knew you would! K thanks baii~!” The bubbly and upbeat girl turned on her heels and gestured Blake to follow. The man let his head fall to a droop. He was left with a small photo of a group of girls, and not in the greatest detail either, and he was supposed to turn this into a man sized painting in a day? Do kids even understand what art is, he is not a painting machine that just copies from left upper corner to the lower right one… Groaning, he started to get out his supplies as the two girls, just as quickly as they had stormed through his quiet door, were already leaving. The one in black at least being polite and muttering some form of an apology before bowing her head. Hope that her manners stick with the reckless blondie. “Yang that was terrible! You`re not even going to pay him?!” Blake protested as they had walked a few steps from the store. “Oh don't worry Blakey, I know him from a long time ago, he seriously wouldn't even be in business had I not been around all those times. Asking for a single commission like that is a rather cheap price for three jobs requiring a capable huntress, Yang winked. “I suppose but… You could have been more polite about it. We barely even greeted him before you shoved the photo in his face starting to make demands..” Blake had just stared as something more close to a terrorist demand had occurred rather than a customer request. Yang just smiled and waved her hand. “It's fine~ don't worry about it, we go wayyy back, he knows what's up.” “Anyway, now that that's all taken care of, didn't we have something you needed, too?” Yang grinned at Blake who, for a moment, didn't know what she had meant, but then was reminded by the sheer expression on Yang`s face. Ah yes. The swimsuit…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will post more chapters after giving them a proper review on a computer, currently working from my phone!


	3. Food&Dates

“Uggh, don’t make me do that again!” Ruby sighed as they left professor Port’s office. “I can hear his voice echo in my brain and it’s making me feel disoriented and I don’t know what I am going to do if all I am going to hear  _ and _ think for the next two hours is Port going about his survival tactics in the face of unarmed combat while stranded in a jungle.” Ruby complained, her expression growing from tired to pained as she relived the two hour lecture both her and Weiss had just gotten after asking a simple question about Grimm in southern Mistral. “Point duly taken..” was all Weiss could let out in reply. She, too, felt the professor’s enthusiasm to be overkill as, now that Port was on vacation, there were no lectures to wear down his desire to boast and go on excessessively. “Anyway, I’m hungry. Wanna grab lunch?” Ruby turned to Weiss, her stomach complaining from lack of breakfast and it already being afternoon. “Yes, please.” The heiress replied, her guarded form and manners still intact after conversing with a professor. “I don’t think the school cafeteria is open though, it being vacation and all.” Ruby groaned in defeat. “We could always eat out. I know this fairly reputable sushi restaurant in town.” Weiss suggested. “My treat, of course.” She added, with a smile. She knew money was tight for most students, and the place she was thinking of wasn’t exactly cheap. “Weissy you’re the best!” Ruby gleamed and hugged her partner who, feeling a bit awkward, only tapped the girl’s shoulders a little. “I..er, am happy to see you so easily excited.” But as Ruby didn’t let go and instead only made herself lean in closer, better embracing Weiss, she became flustered. “Uhh, Ruby? It’s only lunch, I am not sure if it deserves gratitude in such level-” Weiss began, but Ruby cut in “No you silly, you’re taking me out to eat and if you weren’t so oblivious sometimes, you’d understand how far you’ve come! And that makes me so happy, to see you like this and of course eating lunch together is also lovely!” Ruby excitedly explained while snuggling Weiss. “Ruby I-” “GRATITUDE! Accept all my gratitudes!” Ruby was impossible at times, Weiss thought while giving her resigned sigh. She returned the hug, and felt better doing so. Ruby could make her feel better in ways she never thought possible. “There you go!” Ruby giggled. “Now let’s go already, I am so hungry I could eat an ursa!” “Tell me why that wouldn’t surprise me” Weiss muttered, smiling. The girls got out from the academy and were greeted by warm afternoon sun. Summer was truly starting to bloom.

 

Ruby and Weiss were walking in comfortable silence. Weiss appreciated when things quieted down, and she could focus on recollecting her thoughts. She was still a bit unsure of tomorrow, but knowing her team, they’d be fine. Port had said as much - he, while boastful, was not the type of person to look down upon others, and offered both her and Ruby his affirmation that such proper huntresses as themselves should not have trouble facing a mission as such. It was going to Menagerie that had become the iffy part. The Schnee name won’t be well received there, and what if it will end up ruining their whole holiday? Weiss imagined them at the beach while hearing profanities all around and her teammates, especially Yang, ending up in a fight with the locals and… She felt cold grip her chest as it dawned on her. This must have been what Blake felt when she first came to Beacon. Weiss herself had been one of the many people to disrespect Blake for her heritage and a resurge of guilt was brought back to her mind. Ruby noticed her partner’s expression grow heavy. Butting in with her words wouldn’t get more than denying, this much she knew. So Ruby grabbed Weiss’ hand, and smiled with her wide grin at the surprised face she received. Weiss tried to say something, but due to the suddenness of it all, she was left without words for those few passing moments, enough for Ruby’s grin to grow to a satisfied smile. “Got you~” the smiling little red sang. “Ruby what are yo-” Weiss began. “I saw you grow serious, and maybe a bit sad, so I figured I would try to  _ pull  _ you out of it.” She explained, smiling, tugging her partner’s hand teasingly. Weiss was overloaded on how to react: the pun was terrible, her body felt warm and she wasn’t prepared at all, as she was thinking about how bad she felt about Blake. And then it hit her; Ruby was just comforting her. She had said as much, but it was more than that - her partner knew  _ how  _ to comfort her. “I..see.” Weiss finally said, still not pulling her hand away, instead let a small smile tug her as she lowered her gaze, feeling a weird mixture of sad and happy at the same time. “Now, do you wanna talk about it or just walk like this?” Ruby went on. “You dolt..why..how did you even know.” Weiss breathed, not sure if she was embarrassed or moved. “I’m your partner Weiss! I’ve been with you for two years, fought by your side, reading you is important!” Ruby listed with her upbeat, kind voice. “I..suppose". She couldn’t win against her in this. And so Weiss resigned. “It’s Blake. And Menagerie and..” She let out a sigh. Ruby waited, tilting her head to look at her partner while they walked, still hand in hand. They remained like that the whole way. Ruby was happy with the trust Weiss had given her. It had taken a while, but Weiss was finally able to tell about her worries to Ruby like this. In turn, Weiss felt that speaking to Ruby alleviated the weight on her chest. It took them a while to arrive, as, though hungry, both enjoyed their little walk&talk in the warm light and company they provided each other.

 

“Yang no! We don’t need to, seriously please let’s just-” Blake tried. “No Kitty! I saw you staring, and more importantly I remember you were talking about this place when it opened.” Yang radiated with her good mood. They had been walking all over the city after their very early lunch and spend the day in cafes, just talking while walking or window shopping. Now they both had grown hungry once more, and she caught Blake staring at a restaurant that she recognized by name. “Uggh how did you even remember that, it’s been almost a year…” She complained. Yang was stubborn right down to her memory in certain things, and apparently this, too, had stuck with the infuriating blondie. “Let’s just eat home? We need to save money for Menagerie anyway and-” She tried with reason, but Yang wouldn’t have any of it. “Nuh uh, we’ve got that covered remember? Just think of it as an early reward for the mission.” “Come on, I know you want to.” Yang tempted. “...” “Are you really fine with that? We ate fish already today, there’s no way you’d have appetite for more.” Blake tried still resisting. “Hey, I might not be you, but I’m not picky either. Fish sounds just fine, and if I get to enjoy it with you I’m sure it’ll taste even better.” Yang winked. Blake couldn’t tell how serious Yang ever was when she flirted like this, as she did it with most people after all. Yet Blake felt herself weak to it. “Right! In we go!” Yang sang grinning, dragging Blake in before the poor girl could properly resist, and after stumbling inside, she felt too embarrassed to dash back out. Her nose picked up the lovely smell of sushi that instant and Yang laughed as her kitty’s ears perked up as well. Yang loved observing Blake’s reaction, the girl was usually so quiet and reserved, but after being her partner for two years, she had learned how to press the right buttons. ‘When did I fall for you so hard..’ Yang caught herself thinking.

“Hello!” the waitress greeted. “Table for two?” She asked, accepting Yang’s nod as confirmation and turned to her side, waving with her hand in one fluid motion. “Right this way please.” She went on with a contained smile, escorting the two to a corner table by a window. “Please call when you’re ready to order.” She concluded and left as Blake politely nodded with a quiet thank you. She then proceeded to glare at Yang who returned it with her pleased smile and sly eyes before pushing the menu to Blake. “Go on then, I’ll pick whatever you choose~” “And what if I choose the most expensive item on the menu?” Blake teased. “Then I guess we’re going to eat some pretty frikkin’ good sushi!” Yang laughed back. Nothing was going to stop her from enjoying her early dinner with Blake. She got lost in thought watching Blake’s eyes intently examining the menu, her expressions rich as they were trying hard to convey whatever contemplation Blake was going through in her mind. Blake picked up on this. “What is it?” she asked, slightly annoyed, mostly amused. Yang snapped out of with a small gasp. “Ahhh nothing it’s uh - you’re making a lot funny faces when trying to decide and I guess I kinda got lost in them.” She confessed, rubbing her head a bit embarrassed. She wasn’t being exactly subtle about her infatuation with Blake these past few months, but either Blake wasn’t interested or just oblivious to it. As such, Yang didn’t bother to filter herself much anymore, and openly got lost into moments like these. Blake grew slightly red at her comments, and Yang had to fight hard not to gush out with a little ‘awww’. “I just want to make sure we are getting our money’s worth..” Blake mumbled in reply before sinking back to examining the menu. It didn’t take her long to decide from there, and soon she waved to the waitress. She felt happy, despite being dragged in here. Despite the blondie teasing her half the time. Blake loved being with her sun.

The door sang again as two girls entered, waitress greeting them almost immediately after as she presented her routine to them. “Yes, we are a party of two. No, that will be all, thank you.”. Blake picked up the familiar voice. “Weiss?!” She let out. Yang turned towards the door and saw Ruby and Weiss had appeared, both seemed a little off, their cheeks red as if it were cold out. Weiss heard Blake call out her name, and soon noticed the two girls sitting in the corner. She promptly turned back to the already fleeting waitress. “Excuse me, a change in plan. We would like to sit together with our friends. Yes, the ones there over in the corner please.” “But of course! I shall bring you an extra menu, please just take a seat.” Before even finishing, Ruby had made her way to Yang and Blake, seating beside her sister and feeling all giddy as her whole team had suddenly gotten together. “Where have you two been the whole day! You didn’t tell either of us anything and just disappeared, so rude!” She scolded mostly her sister, earning just a laugh from Yang and a pat on her head. “Aww Rubes I just thought you’d need a little time with your queen there” She winked and Ruby began to stammer that instant, Blake glaring at Yang and intervening before Weiss got there. “Sorry, we should have let you know but I really wanted to go to the fish market early, so we skipped breakfast and let you guys sleep. I know you aren’t so big on fish as to wake up early for it…” Blake confessed, her ears twitching as she became well aware of why people, namely Yang, sometimes teased her being a cat in more ways than just appearance. Weiss got over as she heard Blake speak and picked up on it “So that’s what you two have been doing. While  _ I _ was studying on about our next enemy, you were fooling around town!” She scoffed at her teammates, not really being serious. She was more upset about not having the restaurant for herself and Ruby only, but that thought barely registered in her mind and was left as more of a careless in her heart. “Always so series eh Weiss, but from what I can-” Yang was silenced before she got anywhere as Blake had kicked her under the table. “Thank you Weiss. Although I wouldn’t be too worried about a few ursa, did you find anything noteworthy?” Blake continued being the diplomat in the situation, gaining a much better grip on the situation as there were others around her and the sun in the room wasn’t completely focused only on her eyes. “Well..” Weiss began, feeling a little stupid as she indeed hadn’t found anything worthwhile in her few hours of dedicated research. She resigned with a sigh. “There are no known threats outside of our current considerations. We even checked this with professor Port.” Yang grew dumbfound and impressed at this. “Wait, you went to seem Port? Willingly? On your vacation?!” “Ugh tell me about it” Ruby groaned next to her sister. “He wouldn’t shut up about his youth when he could wrestle an ursa with one hand while busting nevermores with the other.” “Hoo, I am the mighty professor Port from my family of Ports, look at my big axe and my even bigger muscles!” Ruby mocked in her attempt at a deep voice, earning a laugh from Blake and Yang. Weiss rolled her eyes but was smiling as well, finally sitting down next to Blake and accepted the menu the waitress had just arrived with.

Team RWBY enjoyed a lovely late afternoon with the best sushi in Vale, and as they were leaving, everybody was surprised as Weiss promptly snatched the bill from Blake and Yang, and handed her credit card over to the waitress. With a smug smile, she received her team’s honest thanks after turning down all offers to pay by themselves. “In exchange” Weiss began with closed eyes, her chin up alongside her finger “You will all agree to take the next mission more seriously and do your research on both the area  _ and _ the Grimm we’ll be facing.” She earned a short silence as the three others exchanged a glance with each other before bursting to laughter. “I will even sit through professor Port’s extra lectures if it gets me sushi.” Blake added, further earning more chuckles from her team. Yang watched her team lovingly, each one of them precious to her in their own way. She would protect them no matter what. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into the swing of things from here on~ As soon as I finish editing. And then come back here to spot dozen more mistakes...


	4. Mission start

The day of departure had come. There was unusual quietness in team RWBY’s dorm. Everyone was going through their bags, checking their weapons, making sure they had everything to succeed. Their holiday bags already packed the night before, amd combat gear was usually at the ready whenever, it was because of this mission coming outside of school that everybody felt nervous. They wanted to make their name to stand out well.

The airship was to arrive within the next 20 minutes. It being the Schnee empire, it would certainly not be late, but rather early. And as such, the whole team was standing outside a good fifteen minutes before the designated time. To really nobody’s surprise, they could already see the airships approaching. Weiss grew stiff at this. Displeased, she scoffed. “An entire fleet? Really? Father must know I am taking part in this mission. A simple dropship would have been enough, and surely all any other team would have gotten.” Blake felt nervous, knowing how Atlesian people treated and thought of the Faunus. Yang, ever the mother, stood proudly in front of their team with her aviators on. She didn’t need to say anything to radiate her warmth and confidence. Little behind and to the right of her stood Ruby, more excited than nervous, gripping her Crescent Rose tight.

Soon the airships had landed, and the team was greeted by a pilot and some other, taller military man. Weiss did most of the talking before boarding despite it usually being the team leader’s responsibility to handle such situations. They were escorted inside where the pilot soon assumed his place in the cockpit and hit ignition. The taller man, now introducing himself as Sergeant Gills went through the mission detail once more. “You are to eradicate any and all Grimm within the area. Should you face unforeseen problems not described within mission intel, we request you to pull back and inform us so that we may reassess the situation. Though unlikely, should this occur you will still be paid in full for wasted time after we have confirmed there has been an error on our side. Are there any questions?” “Uhh I think we got it. You’ll drop us at the nearby village, right?” Ruby asked, both amused and nervous by the overly serious tone Sgt. Gills had been emitting this entire time. “Yes, that is so. You may contact us whenever you’re done with the mission and we will send up a ship to pick you up. Your reward will be paid after we have confirmed the mission has been carried out successfully.” “Uh, we kinda plan on staying in the area afterwards, so can we just contact you after we’re done and  _ not _ take the transportation? I’m sure Yang already mentioned about this but..” “Yes, it was included in your application. We don’t care what you do after the mission, and are only offering the return flight as per mission standards, but of course we do not require you to take it. You’re free to do as you please.” The man iterated. “Great! I think that’s all then.” Ruby said, feeling relieved. Her team was there, listening intently and at the ready to support her, but she still felt a little nervous talking in such a serious tone. Sgt. Gills took his leave, saying should there be any further inquiries he could still be reached for the duration of this flight in his own quarters. The ship that team RWBY had boarded was one of the larger airships, featuring several compartments. They had their own lounge, where Yang was already feeling perfectly at home as she lay on the couch eating the complimentary fruits. “Yo, open up Rubes!” Yang called out as the stiff sergeant had left. Turning around with barely any time to react, Yang had thrown a grape at her and miraculously managed to catch it with her mouth. To Yang’s credit, it was a rather accurately thrown grape. “Yummy!” Ruby giggled. Her sister always knew how to destress her in an instant. Weiss rolled her eyes. “Are you two ever going to grow up..” She said, but clearly amused herself. Blake sat across from Yang, now picking up a few grapes herself and waving Weiss to join her. “They’re actually good. Have some.” Weiss allowed herself the treat and sat next  to Blake. She had to admit, Blake was always pleasant in her calmness and ability to handle the two sisters. Without her in the team, Weiss felt sure she would have gone mad many times over. The rest of the flight went smoothly with the team conversing casually, back to their normal banter now that all the details had been taken care of. From here on out it would be much like any other mission they had been on.

 

As the team was landing in the small village, the rest of the fleet had already disappeared somewhere else. Not that  there would have been much more open room either, and as the girls got out, the ship almost immediately left so as to not cause any more disturbance to the village than necessary. “Alright team! Let’s go to our lodgings and then head out. We’ll start today by doing a survey of the landscape while we still have daylight. I’ve got the map right here.” Ruby waved her Scroll. “I’ll send it to you all as well. But the forest patch is really not too far, an hour or so by foot really depending on the road itself.” It was times like these when Ruby truly felt a leader, when a mission had started it was only her and the rest of the team. “Do you think the villagers are happy about the Schnee empire acquiring land here? I mean, I’m sure it’ll bring more business and growth…” Yang wondered, still feeling carefree. “They’ll have increased security against Grimm, so I would imagine so.” Weiss said promptly. Blake didn’t comment. She knew some villages had problems when Faunus workers migrated there, but every place was different, and this particular one was rather close to Menagerie, so maybe they were more..receptive. The fact that nobody was staring at her, despite her not wearing her bow anymore after the airship ride, was already a good sign. 

The team checked in to their inn and, after leaving all excess baggage, left for their destination. It had been a sunny day much like yesterday, but the evening drew close. Covering a lot of ground during their first day seemed unlikely. It would be tomorrow when they could properly start, if not finish the mission. Seeking out all of the Grimm  would take more time than they had daylight left, and none of them thought it as an appealing idea to run around in the dark forests exhausted. That’s when mistakes took place.

“Everyone got the map? The reception is not the best here but it should have made through..” Ruby began as they walked. “Yup, dinged in just a minute ago.” Yang responded. Weiss and Blake nodded as well, checking the map. They were third of the way to the mission site, but everyone knew to already watch out for possible Grimm. They had been warned that lately there’s been a lot of sightings, and as such the huntresses were a warm welcome. The innkeeper in particular had given them thanks, as the village had been considering commissioning a hunting mission of their own before the Schnee empire had acquired land nearby. The team kept a close formation and travelled on.

 

Meanwhile in a military outpost in Mistral…

 

“Ma’am! We have received intel on White Fang. It seems they have been planning an attack somewhere close by and amassed troops for it. General Ironwood has ordered us to send scouts to the area.” A squad leader had knocked and entered Winter’s office and was giving his report. Winter was listening and as soon as the soldier finished, gave her instant reply. “We shall investigate. Prepare a ship and your squad. I will oversee the mission onsite.” “Ma’am? The orders were to scout, not to seek and destroy…” He began, but Winter cut him short. “Should there be suspicion of such scale White Fang activity, I will not have my scouts die to confirm as much. They’re superior in guerrilla tactics and possess far better scouting abilities. Our men would die before knowing what hit them.” Winter recognized the general as an experienced military man that knew strategy well, but would always underestimate situations when Faunus were involved. She knew their heightened hearing and night vision would prove to be too big of advantage in terrain that was also in their favour. “I will confirm this with the general, but in the meanwhile begin preparations.” “Understood Ma’am!” The squad leader saluted and exited the office. He respected her superior exactly for times like these, when she would question orders from above with logic, yet would not act in defiance. He aspired to be a leader like her.

 

Winter took to action and requested for a voice com with the general. She was informed the general was currently attending a meeting, but would be receiving her in an hour. This gave Winter time to prepare and plan the course of attack. She pulled out a map of region from her drawer and compared it with the report she was left with by her squad leader. It was a thick forest and… Her eyes froze for a moment as she realized how close they were to her base. Was the attack planned head on against the military? This would be very unlike of the White Fang, but they had been growing more violent during the recent years. 

 

“Got more of them coming in!” Blake yelled. “All clear this side!” Weiss responded as she took off to help her teammate. The team had met a pack of boarbatusks, while fierce, they weren’t most strategic of Grimm. Yang was at a disadvantage and was struggling as her fighting style was head on, much like the oppositions. “HIYAH” Her eyes flaring red for a second, she send her fist through the charging boar’s skull and felt herself out of breath. “Watch out sis!” Ruby yelled and shot another boar that was charging at Yang from her flank, the beast letting out a squeal as its leg got hit. Yang sidestepped the collapsing beast and gave a good punch to its belly, sending it in the air already billowing out smoke. Before properly vanishing, both of the sisters were already making their way to Weiss and Blake for support.

It was turning to dusk as the huntresses were finished. They had been fighting two packs of Grimm, both boarbatusks. None of the girls had suffered any injuries as working in coordination they would always be able to cover each others’ flanks. “Alright team! I think we should head back. Good work!” Ruby chirped as the last few of the Grimm had been taken down. “Second that idea.” Yang waved, already recovering. It was exhausting to battle charging boars, but she was still energetic enough not to lose her cheerfulness. Weiss was content with the decision and nodded, and was about to turn to the sisters when she noticed Blake had frozen and her ears twitched. “What is it Blake? More Grimm?” The heiress, already on her guard, asked. “It’s.. No. Not Grimm. Everyone on guard.” Blake said in a quiet voice, almost too quiet for Ruby to hear, but as she noticed how everyone else grew serious, she too grabbed her Crescent Rose more tight and started eyeing their surroundings. “What is it Blake?” Yang asked, almost whispering. The Faunus relaxed a little. “I’m pretty sure I heard someone, not Grimm but…” Blake couldn’t finish that thought as they all heard a rustle in a nearby tree, and before anyone else even reacted, she was already chasing the noise. Yang followed with Weiss and Ruby in pursuit. Though Blake had been the first one to take pursuit, Ruby caught up with her thanks to her semblance. “He’s between those two trees, catch him Ruby!” Blake yelled to her leader, pointing her a direction and Ruby noticed someone clad in black clothes. The man turned, revealing his white mask and with a yell met Ruby’s scythe with his sword. Blake soon caught up just as Ruby swung her scythe again, knocking the sword off of him. The man fell down due to the impact and was about to flee,however, Blake had already gotten behind him and pointed her Gambol Shroud at his neck. “You’re not going anywhere!” She hissed. “Why is the White Fang here?! Is Adam Taurus behind this?!” Blake continued. Weiss and Yang reached the two as the man spat out “Brother Adam doesn`t need to bother himself here. Why are  _ you _ a huntress!?” He asked in clear disgust at the thought. He recognized immediately Blake was a Faunus and couldn't bring himself to understand why someone should aid humans. Blake ignored his question and instead coldly repeated her question “You tell us right now why the White Fang is here or we`ll have to turn rough with you.” The man turned to face Blake and stared at her beneath his mask. Blake brought her sword right to his throat. “Go ahead and kill me, you`re no better than those humans I see.” He replied, swallowing a little but still unwavering. Hatred flashed in Blake`s eyes, but before she could do anything her ears twitched yet again in sign of danger. She didn't have to look to know, and instead knocked the man out with a swift blow her the hilt of her weapon and turned around just in time to see two members of the White Fang trying to ambush her. That same instant Yang had gotten to her side, deflecting the sword aimed at Blake before punching him to a nearby tree. Blake dodged the other one and kicked the man in back, bringing him in the middle of the four huntresses. He tried to run, but was soon blocked as Ruby had dashed in front of him. “You`re not going anywhere!” Ruby growled, gripping her scythe tightly. Yang walked behind him while clicking her Ember Celicas. “Instead you`ll tell us right now what's going on here, or we WILL turn your face uglier than an ursa`s" But before Yang could even think about her next threat, more of White Fang showed up. Sounds of battle filled the darkening forest. The team had decided to take one of the men as prisoner to interrogate him back at the village, but were soon under attack yet again, forcing them to battle deeper into the night. As they were jumping around the forest, Blake had spotted the whole encampment and with that the team soon found out why there had been so much Grimm. There were cages containing ursas and beowolves, some boarbatusks as well, and what had been used to lure the creatures shook them all; members of the nearby village who had been thought killed by Grimm were held as prisoners who were tortured to nurture emotions of despair and pain. As the four huntresses stormed the encampment, everything fell to chaos. Some released Grimm from their cages, many fled with vehicles carrying hostages, and some decided to stay and fight out of spite. Yang and Blake tried to pursue them, to save the poor villagers clearly beaten to breath`s away from death, while Ruby and Weiss stood their ground to fight off the Grimm that were now outnumbering the White Fang members left behind.


	5. Things turn Grimm

"Ruby..." The Heiress let out. Her voice a breath, appreciative but sad. "Don’t. I’m already.."

"NO! DON`T SAY A WORD!" Ruby cried, sinking over the wounded girl. She would not have this happen, not when she could still see her breathe. Rose petals fluttering around the frigid forest, chilling night biting into their bodies as adrenaline was fading. There had been too many, far too many Grimm for what they expected. But it was not the sheer numbers. It had been the White Fang that truly caught them off guard, splitting the team RWBY into two fighting forces from the start. Yang had left Ruby and Weiss to deal with the hordes of Grimm as she pursued Blake who had gone after members of the White Fang fleeing with hostages.

 

Ruby pulled out her Scroll and was dialing up Yang`s contact with shaking hands while having Weiss` fair and light body lean against her. "Come on..come on..COME ON!" Ruby smacked her Scroll after letting it ring without answer until she could hear the messenger bleep. Was her sister, too, injured or worse? Was she still fighting? She didn’t know nor have the time to wonder. Exhausted and scared, but filled to the brim with willpower, Ruby picked up Weiss to her back, her body feeling cold and shivering. "You..dolt. What if.. There`s..more Grimm?" the girl mustered with aches in every word and breath she took. "Then I will slash every last one of them! Don’t you DARE Weiss, I WILL NOT leave you here!" Ruby, almost shouting, lashed back, pushing on without really knowing her way in the dark forest. They were far away from the nearest hospital, and who knows if the nearby village even had a doctor. They both knew this. "Ruby I...*cough*" Weiss began but got interrupted by herself coughing blood. She had been injured bad through her chest, trusting her ice wall to keep the charging Grimm`s tusks at bay. And it would have been enough had it not been for her trusted weapon to run out of Dust just at that moment, causing a much thinner wall to be summoned than normal. Weiss had been struck bad, her aura completely depleted by the impact of the sharp tusk of the giant boar running through. She wouldn’t even be there breathing had Ruby not noticed immediately the unusually thin defence Weiss had managed to summon, changing her course to slay the Grimm that was an instant away from puncturing Weiss` lungs. Still, even with her incredible speed, it hadn’t been enough to avoid the injury.

"Don’t talk Weiss! Just..survive.." Ruby said almost breaking down to a cry, meaning to pep talk her partner but her voice shattering before even getting started. How could she promise her she would save her? Even without an injury, even if the job had been what it was supposed, they wouldn’t have been returning back to the bigger port city the same night. While the place was desolated, this site was supposed to become a mining facility for the Schnee company and thus needed to be cleared of Grimm. Unfortunately for team RWBY, the fresh huntresses had stumbled upon a hidden HQ of the White Fang torturing civilians to lure and capture Grimm. For what, they did not know, but it didn’t matter as they were forced into a battle much larger than they had been prepared for.

Suddenly it clicked with Weiss. The fleet they were transported on was.. Well, a fleet, not a single ship. Something she had first chalked down as her father`s overly protective concern on the company`s heir, was in fact for another reason. “Ruby..” Weiss groaned. “What is it Weissy!? Am I hurting you, let me just readjust..” “No you dolt!” Honestly this girl… “Head north-west.” “But Weiss, that's nearly the opposite of the village we dep-” “Just trust me you dolt!” She coughed again, feeling ill and strained as she spoke. “B-but! There`s bound to be more Grimm that direction and I-” “Please. Do it for me.” That was all Ruby needed. She would go against reason and logic if it meant doing what Weiss wanted to. She trusted the girl’s judgement, turning a near 180 and eyed into the darkness. Quiet. She couldn't hear anything in the forest that just shortly before was filled with the intense sounds of battle. It felt eery. “Ruby I..” Weiss began before having to take another breath and muffling her coughs as they came with the irritation her expanding lungs took on her wound. “Just hang in there Weiss! Don't talk, it will only hurt you more!” Ruby felt desperate, why did the usually so calm and collected girl had to be so stubborn at such a crucial time. But Weiss didn’t finish. She needed to say this for what could be last chance to do so. “No you listen well you dolt.” She began, feeling her conscious slip, yet her thoughts still clear on what she wanted to convey. “I am sorry for calling you..what I have for all these years.” She went on. “But honestly…” “I..have been so  _ happy _ .” “All this time with you. And Blake. And even that annoying and loud Yang.”. Her chest ached, but not only from her wound. She grew cold, but also felt warmth as she spoke. “I.. I don't know if I will.. Live.” She felt sadness and loneliness, even greater than the ones she had experienced during her childhood in Atlas creep up. Ruby felt tears flowing down her cheeks. She didn’t want to hear Weiss speak like this. It was so unlike her. It felt as if these were the final goodbyes she was about to utter to her, and she would have to go on carrying them as the final memory of her. Yet she didn’t dare stop her. “But.. I want you to know. And I want the others, too, to know this.” Weiss felt her eyes no longer could stay open, and instead pricked with tears and her voice quivered. “That I.. I love you Ruby. Not as your partner, not as a friend, but as a woman. You`re someone who brought warmth and light to me in a way I thought was mere fiction.” Ruby`s ears felt flushed and her sobs became audible and her tears fell in volume. “I had always dismissed friends, family, even love between a married couple as something idealistic, just a lie to trick humans to survive as a pack.” She felt sure of her words. Nothing she had ever said or done felt more right than this very moment, as she was bleeding out and felt her limbs grow numb. “But you made me see, no, feel that there truly is such a thing as true love. Something irrational and wonderful. Something I would lay my life for. And..” She trailed off for a good few moments, and just before Ruby could shout Weiss` name in worry and pain, she went on: “And I do not regret fighting by your side for a single moment. I just want you to know I love you, and Blake and Yang too, as a family. But you are the special gem in it for me. And no matter what happens I… I want you to be happy. I can`t die thinking you`d be left sad.” She finished, her tears now in equal volume as the girl`s that was carrying her. With a small smile, she felt herself passing out. She had said what she wanted. It would be a matter of time now, live or die, and it all was up to Ruby, to the person she loved the most and also trusted. Should she fail to save her, it wouldn't matter, as no matter what choice she was given, she would always choose Ruby to be the one to carry her to safety if such a possibility existed. After a few more silents moments Ruby felt Weiss grow completely limb, now her head leaning on her shoulder with all of its weight. “WEISS!” She shouted, but the light, petite and fragile girl would not reply. “WEISS NO COME BACK. DON'T LEAVE ME NOW. I-” She broke down in sobs, her feet still carrying but her heart sinking. “I...I didn`t even get to tell you about my feelings.” She said now in a quiet voice, her head sinking and her knees feeling weak. “I love you too. Have loved you for a long time already. Please don't die. Please hang on. Please  _ someone help me save my love of my life. _ ” Like a prayer, Ruby kept repeating that last sentence in her head while carrying Weiss through the deep forest. Should a Grimm appear, she thought, she wouldn't know if she could bring her scythe up to defend even herself. Her spirit felt crushed. So much so that she almost  _ hoped  _ a Grimm would come and kill her so that this pain could end. So that she might join… No. NO. Weiss was NOT dead. She WOULD save her. Ruby`s strides grew, the girl she trusted and loved the most had told her to go north west, she did not understand why, but if it were Weiss, there had to be a good reason. Whatever it was, she was willing to bet it all on that chance. If only she could make it there - where ever it was - fast enough, she could save her. And so, determined, she almost ran, despite her lungs aching from the stress the rest of her body was putting them through, despite her heart aching from fear, sadness and strain. But she would not stop. Not until she heard the growls. And so she saw the eyes gleeming in the dark forest, not a pair, not two, but all around her. She had seen this before, she had felt this before, this sensation of fear and loneliness, back when she was a child and helpless. But this time… She had someone to protect. And she had Crescent Rose to protect her with. Laying Weiss down as gently and quickly as she could combine the two, she felt rage and determination flow through her. For a brief moment, her red cloak and whole figured seemed as if glowing, much like her sister when her semblance active, Ruby truly felt all emotion running through her body. As the Grimm approached, a massacre of red petals flowing through in wincing wind sharp enough to cut skin began. It became a blur in Ruby`s eyes as both tears and her fading consciousness failed her eyes. But even then, she heard, even smelled the approaching threat, her speed growing, her scythe reaping the approaching threat, her eyes opening once more to meet the terror of mankind without any fear left in her. There must have been dozens, but it didn`t matter. As soon as one approached her love, she would dash in, the mere wind beside her enough to startle the Beowolf before being cut in half. In a tornado of rose petals screams of anguish, pain and desperation sounded throughout the forest as Crescent Rose swung in the hands of the girl that protected her love, shining hope to the most hopeless desperation there was. As Ruby finally　landed to breathe and observe, the same instant another Beowolf jumped her, and with an instinctive swing was cut down, but what she hadn`t anticipated, even less seen, was yet another behind it that was already extending its claws to swipe at her. And while Ruby could still have dodged with her speed, behind her laid injured Weiss. Before any chance of bringing her weapon in front to guard, the sharp claws dug into the protective force Ruby`s last remaining bits of aura could provide, lunging her light frame few meters away and leaving her chest piece torn with a cut seeping blood. Yet, as the beowolf approached Weiss with same ferocity, Ruby had gotten up and charged the already swiping claws of the beast and cut through its arm and whole body, landing right between Weiss and the fading body of the Grimm. No more threats approached, and just as the exhausted huntress layed her scythe down, allowing it to retract, Ruby turned to Weiss, breathing heavy and wincing at her own wounds at every instant she felt still conscious. “Don`t worry Weiss, I will take you to safety. I will take care of you. I will not let you die, I... “ But then she felt the weakness in her knees. The adrenaline finally fleeing, her growing understanding on the gravity of her own body`s failure, she buckled right there next to Weiss` dying body. With whatever strength left of her will, Ruby crawled to Weiss and hugged her tight, wrapping the coldening body of Weiss in her cape. In distance, she could hear howling of the beowolves. She was about to get up once more, but that's as far as her conscious took her.

There they lay, one fatally injured, one exhausted beyond will`s might. Darkness approaching, it truly was the ending page for the story of Weiss Schnee and Ruby Rose. 


	6. Shimmering lights

“YANG!” Blake screamed as she deflected and countered the claws slashing towards her. “ON IT!” The blond replied, bursting into maximum momentum and just in the nick of time blew through the approaching boarbatusk from Blake`s flank as the Faunus dealt with the fourth Beowulf that she had been combating simultaneously, her ears twitching in time to alert her of the fifth danger she couldn't have dealt with in time if not for her partner stepping in. “HOW MANY LEFT” Yang yelled despite being right next to Blake. “I CAN`T TELL” Blake yelled back, before continuing “I sense the sounds of four, but it's impossible to say if there is more.” Yang grinned. Four she could take. Even alone. Even this exhausted. Even after having to deal with some tough White Fang members who had decided to fight instead of fleeing, simply out of spite for humans. But then she saw Blake freeze for a moment before exhaling calmly. “No. Two. But..” There was concern in her voice. “There are two King Taijitus!”. Fighting Grimm their size and in their current state was going to be tough, but possible. “Then I guess we`re just going to have to be quick about it!” Yang shouted without really making sense to the either of them, but regardless the two bounced high and took in the sight, they could see the twin snakes slither into the clearing that had come from the ceaseless combat. “THE LEFT ONE FIRST!” Yang yelled and in unison the two descended down, Blake landing behind it and Yang drawing in the giant snake`s attention with rounds from her Ember Celicas. “YOU UGLY PIECE OF SNAKE SUSHI!” Yang screamed, gaining the full attention of both the giant twin snakes as they slithered fast towards the glowing blond. The one on the right struck down but Yang had been faster, dodging with a jump backwards, now facing the strike coming at her from the other one but this she had anticipated, and instead of trying to dodge, Yang flung herself with another dual shot from her wrist shotguns towards the snake`s open mouth and punched one of its fangs off, lodging herself in its mouth while holding it open with her right arm and legs, firing rounds inside its mouth with her left arm. The snake bellowed in anger and pain, shaking its head radically but then came to a jerking halt as Blake`s sword pierced its head from above as she had jumped from behind the Taijitu`s vision. Falling down sideways, Yang jumped off as did Blake to face the last remaining Grimm, it now fully aware of both of the huntresses presence, taking on a more defensive coil before lunging at Blake and swiping its tail at Yang. Blake dodged easily, but Yang still mid-air was too late to recover her trajectory and took the full impact of the snake`s tail. She was struck to ground with that. “YANG!” Blake yelled, fearing that might have been it for the brawler's insane aura reserves, but no. Before she could even finish worrying, the golden beast was up and roaring with might that even the Grimm was seemingly shaken, facing the lunging fist of the fearsome huntress with its body once again. This time it proved to be the final fatal mistake of the creature, as Yang not only punched through the attacking tail, but to the very core of the Grimm, shattering its insides and causing black steam to foam out from it. “Huff...huff..” Yang was panting, the fight overall having lasted for who knows how long. Straightening up to her stance once more, she was listening and looking for her partner's eyes. As they met, she calmed down, her red eyes turning back to the shade of lilac. “I don't hear anything. We should try looking for Weiss and Ruby. I feel bad having left them…” Blake began, feeling eerie as even her cat ears couldn't pick up anything. Had they finished fighting as well? “I`ll try calling them” Yang said, pulling up her Scroll, noticing a missed call from Ruby. She rang back. No answer. She tried Weiss. Nothing. “Shit.” “Blake let`s go, neither of them are picking up!” Blake nodded and they began to trace their way back, running despite being exhausted.

 

It was a miracle how they had been able to handle it all. There must have been twenty-some Grimm for each of them, and also members of the White Fang causing additional chaos in the midst of it all. Some fell victim to the loose Grimm, some killed a few off before falling to a good punch from Yang, but it all was a blur of chaos where the two huntresses only strove to survive. They had seen some vehicles escape with what looked liked civilian prisoners, but no matter how much they wanted to go after them, both realized they were fighting for their lives here already. Running, Yang`s worry grew. Why couldn't they hear anything, why weren`t they picking up, why were they just standing still?! Following the map on the Scroll that showed the location of the other two Scrolls, they weren`t too far. And that's what concerned them. It was too quiet. “I`m going on ahead!” Blake yelled, using her semblance to speed up. She was faster of the two, and they felt every second could count. Blake dashed through the dark forest, her eyes seeing in there clear as daylight, monitoring for Grimm or other remaining members of the White Fang, but the forest remained silent and empty. Until she picked up the howls. Her skin crawled as they were close. Very close. She gazed at her Scroll, seeing herself in the midpoint between the pursuing Yang and the still Ruby and Weiss - assuming they were with their Scrolls. She was almost there. Hang on you guys. Be safe. Be fine. We`ll be there soon! Yang had seen Blake disappear into the darkness, grateful for the Faunus` speed. She had done her best to keep up but simply couldn't, also feeling the fatigue weigh on her legs. She had slowed a little, if there would be fighting to be done she`d have to be able to swing a punch and not collapse at the finish line. Her body had taken several hits, with cuts decorating most of them. Nothing she wouldn't survive from but they did further slow her down. Blake, being the most agile of them all, had managed dodging and playing off of sneak attacks as Yang took the main brawler's role. This style suited them both, as Yang could focus on the enemy in front and count on Blake to have her flank. But right now, she felt useless. If Yang wasn't already there, she could only curse and hope for the best, only count on others to make it. To count on Blake. Then she heard it - howling. She picked up her pace again, checking her Scroll to see Blake had almost reached the two others. “You both better be alright, big sis is coming!”

 

Blake landed right where Ruby layed with Weiss under her embrace. Both unconscious at best, as Blake had called out to them with no reply and was about to check if they still breathed when she saw Grimm approach. “YOU FILTH” The cat growled, pulling her Gambol Shroud out once more and taking her stance. Rage furrowed Blake`s skin, but she forced herself to remain still, she had to guard these two with her life. She couldn't go about this the normal way. She`d have to hold on till Yang got there. That's as far as her thoughts got, as the first two Beowolves already came clawing at her, Blake met the first one head on, swiftly deflecting its claws and stabbing through its throat, dodging the other one right behind it with her semblance and appearing behind it to pierce its back. She had no time to stop as more Grimm drew close, Blake shot her weapon to keep some of them at bay, then backed off towards her injured friends. The Grimm had slowed down, now circling her and approaching. There were five..six..eight in total. If she could just hold on… Blake pulled her weapon up and checked it to find herself out of ammunition.

 

Yang heard shots. She had heard the howls. Glancing, she could see herself with one full clip remaining that she had had to divide between the two Ember Celicas. Using any ammo for additional speed wouldn't be viable. She would trust Blake. She was almost there. Be fine, everyone. Don't you dare get hurt. Yang got there just in time to see four Beowolves bounce at already bleeding Blake, protecting her teammates that were downed right behind her. “BLAKE! RUBY!” Yang screamed as she lunged in to blast her family`s assailants. Blake had heard her hero arrive, but it wasn't in time to help her - she had blocked two of the Grimm with her weapon, but the other two had gotten to her backside and struck her to the ground mere inches away from her two friends she was protecting. And that's the moment Yang blasted with glowing rage she nor anyone else had seen before, dismembering the Grimm around her limb by limb as they tried to touch her loved ones. “BLAKE! RUBY! ..Weiss!?” What happened!?” “They`re...I`m not sure” Blake said with a weak voice. “They were down when..” Blake groaned, trying to get back up. She felt a nasty flinch on her back. “Don`t! You`re injured, it.. It looks pretty bad.” Yang had broken into tears, her eyes still red as she saw her unconcious sister clinging to a bleeding Weiss, and Blake had just gotten two nasty cuts on her back. “Ju-just stay like that, I - I`ll get us outta here” Yang`s panic grew as she began to understand how bad this had turned out. She could hear the growling of more Grimm. She saw from the corner of her eye an Ursa, in front a pack of Beowolves. There was no end to them. “Yang.” Blake said, oddly calm. “Take Ruby. And go. And don't look back.” “It`s.. Weiss I don't think there`s anything we can do. I can`t move. Take your sister. And run as far as you can.” Yang couldn't believe what she was hearing. As if she was asking to murder her two best friends right there and then. “I know you`re stubborn Yang but please listen to me this one time. You can`t protect us all. It`ll be a miracle if even just you make it out.” “I want you to-” “SHUT UP YOU IDIOT” Yang`s rage flaring up stronger than it ever had. “I WILL DIE FIGHTING HERE, A MILLION TIMES OVER BEFORE ABANDONING ANY OF YOU.” The brawler's mane glowed a fiery yellow, her determination soaring in a blazing inferno. As it did, the Ursa behind her had gotten to striking distance, throwing its massive weight to a clawing punch that was met with a single hand. Yang`s fierce red eyes turned to face the Grimm`s, and for a short instant there was fear reflected in the darkness itself as Yang`s other arm flung to a punch, eradicating the beast`s head. Yang turned, in her stance, and faced the whole pack of Beowolves already making a jump at her. Sounds of Ember Celicas giving beat to the forest`s massacre in the last stance of team RWBY. Finally only a click remained, leaving Yang leaning on her pure strength alone. Another one down, a fist through this one`s skull, a hit taken to my side, a kick to that one`s stomach, Yang focused on nothing but coordinating her attacks as efficiently as she could to protect both her vitals and her friends who were nothing but a stack of meat for the Grimm around her. One dove from her flank, Yang elbowed that one, flinging it to a tree with a painful crack. Yang could feel her body break under the stress she was putting it through. She did not care. “YOU WANT MORE!? I`VE GOT MORE!!” Her semblance roaring for one last time, litting the whole forest in yellow energy, blinding all to it as Yang pummeled yet another four Grimm out of this existence, the rest backing off at the phenomenon of the huntresses pure rage engulfing the entire battlefield. But it was now over. Yang felt her breath escape as she had used up everything in her. There was no thought. It went from punching to lights out on herself. She fell with a thud next to her three teammates, facing down. The startled Grimm drew closer. The light was gone. Only bodies remained.


	7. Damaged

“Ma`am, we have spotted a yellow flash directly sou-” “I have eyes!” “ Squad A begin drop down, secure the area. Paramedics follow, prioritize the ones in critical state. Squad B stand by. Land the ship immediately after. In and out three minutes!” A stern, disciplined voice commanded as the airship made its descend, litting up the forest by its spotlights. Military men in gear flung down and took their positions, advancing with haste and firing at Grimm that had emerged from the shadows. Left shaken as a dash of glyphs flashed past them, Winter had arrived to the clearing where team RWBY was dying. Her men in pursuit, forming a vanguard in front of Winter with paramedics  following right after. The airship landed as everyone had arrived to their positions, its back facing them, opening a dropbridge. Weiss was the first one to be taken in, followed by Blake and then Yang and Ruby. “FALL BACK. 40 SECONDS!” Winter`s command was absolute, and like clockwork entire area was cleared within the allotted time. The ship took off as the last man climbed on board. “Status!” Winter commanded. “All men accounted for, currently tending to the wounded. Working on diagnosis!” Responded the squad leader. “Head back to base!” Winter commanded as she strode past her squad, taking a quick glance to every other member of team RWBY before stopping in front of Weiss. Her facade unwavering, she remained silent and stared as the medics worked with haste. “Ma`am! She has lost a lot of blood, her state is critical!” “We need a surgeon!” “Contact the base and arrange one with required facilities.” Winter responded calmly. She took another look at the others and saw Ruby awake. She had been the least injured of her team, and was now the first to wake with flinching pain in her chest. Deciding against interrogation, as it would not offer anything useful, Winter assumed her seat in the helm of her ship. “Ma`am!” “Yes?” Winter had to do her best to hide the worry in her voice. “Miss Schnee has lost too much blood. She will not make it unless we can make a transfusion but… We do not presently carry any blood with us.“ “We do not even know her blood type.” “You will use mine.” Winter`s reply was instant, causing the medic to just stare for a second before replying: “Ma`am, you may lose consciousness.” “Contact Qrow Branwen and demand his immediate presence as per my orders. He is to take control of our operations during my absence. Send word to base to locate him and bring him in ASAP.” “Ma`am?” The medic looked at Winter in a mixture of disbelief and confusion “Is that understood soldier!?” Winter`s eyes drilling into the medic`s confused face. “Affirmative!” he replied after being reminded of her superior`s absolute orders.

 

The long night after…

 

Yang was waking up. She was picking up the pieces from her memory. A flash of yellow… Her own rage… Ruby! Weiss! Blake... ! Yang tried to get  up, groaning loud as her side hurt. She had fractured her right elbow and broken a few ribs on her left side. The fighter got up slowly and painfully, not really knowing where she was. She stripped out the IV from her left arm with a grunt. A hospital of some sort, certainly. But it smelled different from the ones she had been in before. Then she noticed Blake on one of the beds. Making her way there slowly, almost shouting her name: “Blake! Are you ok? Where are the others? What happened?” Yang letting her confusion run rampant to the now slowly waking up Blake. “Yang? You`re..we`re alive..how..did you really save us all?” Blake tried to get up, laying on her stomach, feeling immediate pain on her back and slowly lowered her head back down. “I don't remember.” Yang responded in a slightly sad tone. “Where are we?” Blake asked. “I don't know. But I am going to find out. Stay here, I will go see if there`s anyone with answers around here.” Yang was already about to leave as she asked “How are you feeling?” She couldn't feel at ease, not seeing Ruby nor Weiss in the same room with them. “I think I am OK. The Grimm got my back but… I seem to be alive. I am worried about Weiss, though. She was badly injured back there.” Yang`s concern grew. “I`ll be back soon. Hold tight.” Yang already had turned around and was on her way to the only set of doors in the room. “Don't think I am going anywhere anytime soon…” Blake said in a quiet voice, yet enough to reach Yang without meaning to.

As Yang got out of the room, she was met with nurses rushing towards her, bustling something stupid about her being supposed to stay in bed, about her injuries needing rest. She didn't care, turning angry at them and instead shouted: “Where`s Ruby! And Weiss!” “Is my baby sister OK?!” her sides aching as she raised her voice. “I don't think we are authorized to..” one of the nurses began but was cut short when a tall, familiar figure had gotten up. “Ruby`s fine. Her body is at least. As for Weiss, well. They`re still figuring that one out.” Qrow said in his familiar, though slightly tired voice. “Uncle Qrow!? What, how are you here - and where are we!?” Yang was growing more and more confused by the moment. “Let`s go back in there and I`ll fill you in. It's crazy town out here.” Qrow replied, nodding at the nurses and the commotion that was going on further down the hall. “Sir, you`re not authorized to go i-” the same nurse began to protest but Qrow turned to her with fierce eyes “Now you listen here missy, while your boss is out, I am the one in charge here, remember? Her orders. Now I do what I please and will give them answers before Yang here blows this whole place up.” The nurse was left stammering as realization grew over her. She couldn't oppose her superiors no matter what she might think of her current ones, and instead replied with discipline. “Understood.” “Good. Come on then Yang, get back to your bed and I`ll tell you everything I know.” Yang, though still overwhelmed by everything going around her, trusted her uncle and returned through the same set of doors she just had gone through. Blake perked up as they did, a small groan leaving her mouth as her back clenched around her wounds. “Heya Blake, doing any better?” Qrow greeted the Faunus who was just as surprised as Yang was. “Told you I`d be back soon” Yang said, meaning to joke but her voice too heavy to sound like one. “Been better. Where are we?” Blake asked. Yang had gotten back to her bed, minding her side and still feeling it ache hard. “Well, here`s the thing.” Qrow began. “I got a message saying to come to a rendezvous point near my location, but it being from Atlas military, I was suspicious.” “Almost killed the poor guy stationed there questioning what this was about.” “Anyway, I only came here after he claimed that you guys were here all injured and that Winter herself had requested I come down here to run the place.” “We`re in some military outpost of Winter`s, south of Mistral.” Qrow explained to both Blake and Yang. “Wait, so how did WE get here?” Blake asked. “And where`s Ruby and Weiss!?” Yang followed up. “Slow down, will you.” Qrow sighed. “Ruby`s fine, I told you. She`s moping about, feeling all guilty about the injuries you all have suffered. She`s the only one without anything serious.” “As for little Ice Queen, well. That we don't know. She`s in critical condition, having lost so much blood and all that.” Yang and Blake shivered hearing about Weiss, growing silent. “You guys were found in some forest south of here, apparently Winter was leading an operation based on some iffy intel that the White Fang was up to something near your mission location. Good thing she did, as the story tells me you guys were surrounded with Grimm and down for the count.” Blake`s skin crawled, remembering how she had tried to talk Yang to take Ruby and run. The stubborn brawler of course hadn`t listened to her. The last thing she remembered was a bright yellow flash. “Now, Winter has apparently gone comatose after giving too much of her own blood to sustain Weiss. Docs here tell me their boss will be fine, but that it's far too early to say as much about her sister.” “That`s why I am here, to run the show so to speak. Winter had the foresight to contact me before laying down for transfusion. I gotta hand it to her, she knew exactly how things would fall apart in her absence. I`ve been through paper hell down there with these idiots.” Qrow concluded his explanation, leaving Yang and Blake silent for a few moments. “So… You`re saying Winter rescued us all, has gone to coma to save Weiss, and now you`re the boss.” Yang recited. “That about sums it up.” Qrow replied. “So where`s Ruby now?” Blake asked. Qrow sighed. “Your leader is blaming it all on herself, and is worried sick about Weiss. She`s gone out, not far enough to leave the military grounds, we`re keeping our eyes on her for that. She`s fine otherwise.”  Qrow explained with yet another sigh. He was clearly tired from juggling both the military base and his own worries about the injured girls. And oddly enough, he wasn't drunk. “You two should stay here and take it easy for the next few days.” he went on. “If you need anything, be it food or just getting out for a stroll, just say my name and they ought to comply. Just don't go leaving the grounds, not like you should have any reason to do so anyway. I trust you will respect what I tell you and in return I`ll give you all the privileges I can leverage out of these clowns here.” Qrow said in a light tone, but Yang knew better than to question it. “Of course, thanks for all this uncle Qrow” Yang replied. “Hey, you just take it easy and leave things to me. I may not have the reputation for it, but I'm as capable as they come. It's a miracle and a half any of you are alive. You ought to pay respects to the fact by at least staying safe for the time being.” Qrow concluded before getting up. “Now I have some more business to take care of, knowing you two are filled in and won`t cause any trouble I can`t fix.” Qrow said jokingly, but tiredness oozed out of his voice. “If you need me, just ask anyone to take you to Winter`s office. That's where I reside for the time being.” Qrow said as he walked out the doors, leaving both Yang and Blake to recover and wonder about all that had gone down within the past day. The girls let silence mellow out their thoughts, listening in to the commotion going outside the doors right next to their room. “Hey Blake” Yang began, but the Faunus had already fallen to a sleep lulled by the mixture of her exhaustion and the painkillers floating to her through her IV. Yang grew silent realizing as much. She was tired as well, and resolved to close her eyes and thoughts. She was tired just as well. Worrying would have another time. Now she needed rest.

  
Around the base rose petals were fluttering in a storm as Ruby was unleashing her semblance to its maximum, speeding to both try to train her limit as well as trying to bear the emotional burden she felt for letting such harm to come to her team. Ruby felt terrible. She didn't bear any injuries from the battle they all had engaged in, except for the one on her chest from the final blow from the beowolf. Her heart itself felt more scarred. She didn't know if Weiss were to survive. Both Blake and Yang had gotten hurt  bad. She felt guilt grip tighter with each passing thought. Letting out a scream, her Crescent Rose extending, she swung at a tree, cutting through it and landing on the ground with still too much velocity, tumbling on her feet. She didn't get up. What if Weiss wouldn't wake up. She couldn't live that down. She was supposed to protect her.  _ She didn't even hear how I feel about her _ . Ruby`s eyes grew moist as she was reminded of the words Weiss spoke, filled with authenticity and emotion. Why hadn`t she replied there and then?  _ Why _ . Ruby felt herself lacking both as a leader and as a human. Her social ineptitude had dawned on her in the most horrifying way - she thought herself as distanced from the world of emotion as the rest of the world experienced it. She did _ feel _ , but didn't  _ express.  _  Not with the same ability others around her did. Red cloak of rose petals marked her spot as she took into the air once more, feeling strained as she forced herself well beyond her comforts with her semblance, completing another two laps around the base before crashing to the ground as her heart ached in both feeling and stress. Ruby coughed, her chest wound had reopened and stained her black shirt under the red cloak. Flashes of Grimms attacking her and Weiss soaked her mind. She began to swing her scythe at nothing, and decided to go hunt for something she could blame her worries on. She wanted to kill. Kill those that had hurt her friends. Her love. And so, Ruby left the military grounds as the afternoon sun was beginning to waver towards dusk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to follow once I get around to completing this~


	8. Red like roses, dark as Grimm

Ruby had sped above the walls, but was now walking aimlessly in the overgrown forest. “I am a failure. Not only to my team, but to Weiss.” And to myself. She had always wanted to be a hero. The one who saves everyone at the end, the one who prevails before her foes. Instead, she had been unable to save Weiss. She had let her be injured. She failed at protecting her, and was instead saved by her team, who had been injured in the process. She repeated these thoughts to herself, stuck, feeling sick of it. It didn't take long before her hatred and brooding had attracted Grimm. She could hear movement. Ruby didn't react. She felt this sickening happiness about the approaching danger. Crescent Rose at the ready, she was waiting while continuing deeper into the forest. But she felt this wasn't enough. Ruby brought the scythe to her neck, feeling the cold blade against her skin. She vowed to press the trigger should she hear Weiss had died.

 

Growls drew near. The girl giggled. “Back for more? I`ll be happy to end you.” She muttered. Ruby`s eyes staring blank, she heard the Grimm approach from behind, noting the bushes rustle to her right as well. Just as the panting, thirsty Grimm neared her back, she flipped her scythe and began her killing. The first beowolf cut in half horizontally, Ruby stared emotionless at its withering body, swinging again to sever its head, then its left arm, and before able to continue, another had shown up. Ruby turned to meet it, a crooked smile on her lips. “Hi Mr. Wolfy. Wanna die?” The creature roaring, making a jump at the small girl only to be met with a swift swing of her scythe. “Oh no, you`ll have to be much faster than that. Fast like this as Ruby swung again, diagonally cutting through the already dead Grimm`s body. Ruby jumped, counting the bodies of darkness approaching her. “So many friends tonight. I`ll murder you nice…” The red cloaked reaper activating her semblance, storming through the swarming creatures. “Oh no, was that your leg I cut? Sowwy~” Ruby taunted, losing herself to the cruel killing spree she had begun. The numbers only growing, Ruby landed in the middle of them. “Come on then all. Come get your pain right here.” More and more Grimm showed up, their senses feasting on the now laughing girl`s dark emotions.

 

Knock came to Winter`s office, now occupied by Qrow. The now drunk man sighed. “Yeah what is it? If it's more annoying papers I swear…” Qrow began as the door opened. “Sir! Ruby Rose has left the premises, we are not sure how she managed to leave without us noti-” the soldier reported before cut short by Qrow “She LEFT?! When?!” Qrow grew immediately worried. Ruby had felt off, but Qrow hadn`t anticipated she would actually straight up and leave. “When did this happen?!” He continued. The soldier grew more distressed at the question. “Sir we aren`t quite sure, she was gone so fast that we couldn-” “You idiots.. Put out a search party immediately! Do you even know what direction she went off to?!” Qrow was furious. The one thing he had specifically instructed them in was to keep an eye on her just in case and that they failed in. “We saw her last at the southern wall, but we are not sure where she exited, we are still analyzing the security camera feed.” The soldier explained, feeling ashamed. Qrow groaned. He was tired and now this happened. The kiddo may not have been badly hurt like the rest of her team, but he knew her mind was heavy and as such prone to fatal mistakes like this. “You get a squad searching for her this instant!” he got up and took up his scythe. “Sir! You can`t just leave the base without notice, we need a lead-” the soldier tried. “I don't give a shit about your etiquette here, you failed and now I'm going to go fix this before something happens to Ruby, instruct the men to be on alert or something I don't care, I'm going!” Qrow shouted at the man as he pushed him aside from the door. “And not a word about this to Yang or Blake!” he yelled, running down the hallway. Last thing he needed now was to worry about those two causing more trouble.

 

Ruby was beginning to feel exhausted. Her wound still seeping blood , her body cold despite all the action, she could feel her mind ache. Yet this only served her purpose, she needed it to sway her thoughts from Weiss. From her failures. “You hurt her… It's your fault!” She screamed at the Grimm as Crescent Rose sang its bullets, propelling Ruby towards more Grimm. She cut down two more, then one swung at her from the side, flinging her to the ground. Her aura flickered, yet paid no mind to this. She got up fast and guarded against the next swipe, taking a step back before slicing the beowolf`s head off, just to be met with yet another swiping at her other side. She fell again, her aura now completely drained. “Ugh..that one hurt wolfy..” Ruby got back up, distancing herself from the swarming beowolves. Then, at the corner of her eye, she could see a boarbatusk readying its charge. “YOU.” She growled. “YOU WERE THE ONE TO HURT WEISS.” Ruby charged at the boarbatusk, it now doing the same. It was a big armored one, with tusks matching the size of the girl`s scythe. Ruby knew she couldn't damage its back, but instead allowed momentum to fly her right over it, swinging her scythe in perfect timing to bring the tip of her scythe between the charging boar`s hind legs into its stomach as she performed a somersault in the air. Crescent rose penetrated the boarbatusk till its spine, and with Ruby`s momentum being greater, flipped it on its back in front of Ruby. Beowolves approached her from behind, but Ruby kept her stare at the squealing and vanishing Grimm in front of her. She was tired. She hadn`t truly forgotten her guilt even for a second. Weiss was in critical care. Yang had saved her like she was still five. The whole thing had escalated into chaos because her misjudging the threat they faced. If she died here, wouldn't her team be better off? She turned, her eyes empty, swinging her scythe and would do so till she couldn't. She could escape. She could still outrun them. But Ruby didn't want to. She would stay still she could feel the claws digging to her back, to slash her face, to break her piece by piece. Blood taste in her mouth, feet trembling at the coldnesses seeping in her body as she kept swinging her scythe until a sudden surge of warmth began to spread from her stomach. It soon turned cold, into a flinching, wrenching pain.

 

“Be alright, kiddo…“ Qrow mumbles to himself as he speeds through the darkening forest. With only a hunch to work with, the forest around here was too thick to assume his bird form to scout. He was faster speeding with his scythe. Sound of bullets being fired in the distance hit his face in cold affirmation. He was closing in, the sounds getting more vivid, pronounced, then disappear. Silence. Qrow doesn’t stop even for a beat, for it could be too late after that.


	9. Bleeding

Blake’s ears perked up. She could hear commotion down the hallway their room was in. Things had been quiet for a while after Qrow had left them to recover, but now it the noises had returned. Soldiers were running up and down it seemed. She still felt groggy from all the painkillers and the weird sleep cycle she was in, so it took a while before the Faunus would call out to Yang to check if she heard it too. But the sun was up already. “Morning Blake.” Yang greeted as she got through the doors with her cast. “They woke you too, huh?” She continued while making her way next to Blake’s bedside. “Yang...why are you up?” “As nice as it is to watch you sleep, I thought I’d go check out what this was about. Though they tell me nothing, I can tell it’s more than a drill they’re worked up about.” “Should we be worried? I don’t think I can do much still..” “Not like I can do more than drag myself in and out these doors. It’s frustrating. Still haven’t seen Ruby and no clue on how Weiss is holding up.” The blond bit her lip. She hated feeling powerless like this. Her aura was working fast in patching the ribs she broke, but it would still take at least two weeks before she was in fighting condition. “Come here.” Blake broke Yang’s thought cycle. “Huh? I am here.” Blake turned her face to her other cheek, facing away from Yang. “I meant.. It’s cold. And you’re warm.” “Oh kitty..” Yang’s voice was soft and she smiled, surprised. After a bit of shuffling, they both managed to get onto the small hospital bed. Blake’s back had healed quite a bit; she was now able to be on her sides without causing much pain to her wounds. Her back facing Yang, the two spooned. Yang had her left arm under Blake’s head as a pillow, resting her right arm on her own side. The blanket was pulled over them both. “You think she’ll make it?” Blake asked, her voiced dipped in concern. “She’s as stubborn as they come. The fact that she’s still alive tells me it’s going to be alright.” Yang replied. “I...always knew being a huntress meant that people you considered friends would die.” Blake began. “But.. This team is more than friends to me. It’s family.” Tears fell down her cheek. “I can’t imagine losing any of you. It would be too painful. My heart flinches when I even speak about it.” Blake’s breathing was uneven, quivering and her ears flat on her scalp. Yang felt tears drip on her hand. Slowly and gently, the blond rocked the Faunus in her embrace, feeling small stings of pain on her right side when she would use too much force. “Shh.. No one will die. Weiss will get better. She just lost so much blood she has to take a nap now. Her  _ sister’s  _ got her. And you know? Us big sisters  _ always _ save their little sis when they’re in trouble.” Blake couldn’t help but smile through her tears at Yang’s stupid overconfidence that had become so endearing to her. She brought her hands to Yang’s left one, still supporting her head, and gave it a squeeze and let them stay there. Laying there, slowly breathing and feeling each others’ warmth, Blake was lulled back to sleep. She was still weary from all the drugs she was on to sedate the pain, her Faunus body not used to them. Yang kept rocking her.

 

“RUBY!” Qrow shouted as he arrived at what looked like a Grimm death pool, and in the middle of it a girl in red on her knees, her back to a tree. Ruby was arched over herself and her scythe had been tossed to her right. Qrow got there just in time to see as several beowolves charged Ruby and the girl could do nothing to defend herself. He dashed in, firing at the closing in beowolves before clearing out the rest with his scythe. For Qrow, this much was nothing, but he could hear more howls in the distance. Turning to Ruby, he could see the girl barely moving, writhing in pain. “Kiddo! Why are you here getting yourself killed? Don’t tell me that was your intent!” Qrow asked Ruby in disbelief and worry. “Uncle Qrow..” Ruby coughed. “So I am saved again…” She continued without even a sliver of joy or relieve, rather her voice was dipped in guilt. “You bet your roses you are.” Qrow tried sounding cheerful as he carefully picked the girl in his arms and began to sprint back the way he came. Moments of silence passed, and Qrow already thought she had passed out before Ruby spoke again. “Is Weiss ok?” in a quiet, sad tone. Qrow wanted to lie, but knew it would only serve to trigger her later, possibly causing another catastrophe like this. “We don’t know yet kiddo. She is fighting but won’t wake up.” Qrow admitted. They weren’t far away from base now. “I...see..” Ruby said in a tiny voice, her eyes pricking with tears as she felt her mind numbing.  

  
  


The morning came with a rain.

 

Blake woke up to the distant roars of thunder. She didn’t have to look to know Yang wasn’t by her side anymore, her heat was now only a memory from last night. She sighed, feeling bittersweet. It didn’t last long before worry began to grow. It was silent asides from the storm’s hum. “Weiss..”. Blake tried moving. Her back hurt as her muscles tensed, but not as bad anymore. She noticed that her thoughts, though still slow from sleep, weren’t that clouded. She wasn’t on painkillers anymore it seemed. She tried getting up. Every move hurt, but she was able to. She felt disoriented and wobbly, but able to take steps. Blake made her way to the double doors at the end of their room and pushed them open slow. No one, not even nurses. She felt nervous. Her ears finally picked up distant chatter, coming from somewhere in the hallways further down. She followed it and soon realized it was Yang’s voice, and it sounded angry.

 

“YOU IDIOT WHAT WERE YOU THIN-” Yang was blazing at Ruby as Blake opened the door behind her. “Yang? ...Ruby!?” Blake had walked in as Yang was letting off her steam at the now bedridden Ruby. There was a nurse quietly sitting in a corner that looked horrified and tired. Yang turned to Blake with red eyes, but her expression was sad, worried. “Let me be Sis. I am sorry.” Ruby’s quiet voice visibly pierced Yang’s heart. She was about to turn back to her sister, but then Blake took her hand. “Whatever it was, she’s alive Yang. Please. We shouldn’t fight.” Yang’s red eyes slowly dissipated back to their shade of lilac. “I..we are not fighting. It’s…” Yang tried, her eyes now pricking into tears. Blake’s cat ears fell down and she didn’t know if to hug or ask what was wrong. “You’re okay, huh Blake. I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.” Ruby’s voice felt distant, detached. She didn’t even look at the two girls with her empty, puffy eyes. She had been crying, that much was obvious. But why did she feel so off, Blake couldn’t understand. “Ruby...what happened to you? Are you… going to be ok?” Ruby sighed. Yang’s expression grew pained, she clearly wanted to say something but couldn’t bring herself to. “I don’t know about that Blake. Take care of Yang for me. I...don’t think I can be your leader anymore.” Ruby’s eyes grew wet as she spoke her words. “What are you saying Ruby… We need you now more than ever, well I mean we all need to rest now but..” “I’m sorry. Please Blake, let me just be.” Was all Ruby replied. Yang pushed Blake’s shoulder, her head drooping down. She understood, and they both left Ruby to her room. The two walked in silence, only broken by the distant echoes of the thunder outside. Blake hadn’t let go of Yang’s hand even for an instant, and they remained like that all the way back to their room.

 

“Yang, you need to tell me what happened. Why was Ruby all… Messed up?” Blake finally asked “...” “That idiot went out into the forest last night and almost got herself killed.” Yang let out, stifling her tears. “She feels so guilty about Weiss. About all of us. She was willing to let herself die, Blake! She didn’t even want to be rescued, I heard her say it, I…” Yang broke down crying again. Blake had never seen Yang like this, so vulnerable, so hurt. She wrapped her arms around Yang as they both sat down facing each other to one of the beds. Yang returned the embrace by leaning in, and took a deep breath before continuing. “I feel her pain Blake. I feel I have failed as her sister, for letting her go through with that. I should have been there for her before she got that stupid idea in her head, before she got swallowed up by that guilt she had build up.” “You were out cold and barely able to walk.” Blake tried. “But was I really…” Yang’s reply was quiet, chilling. “I knew she was taking this heavily, it’s just that… Why didn’t I realize… It should have been obvious! Ruby would have normally come to check up on us, but we never saw her!” Yang went on, almost rambling. “Calm down Yang. She’s still here, alive. We have all the time in the world to fix this. Don’t do the same mistake as she did with blaming herself to death.” Blake warned her, doing her best to snap Yang out of it. Silence took over once more, and what felt like longest minutes since the dreadful night, the blond lifted her head and looked the Faunus straight into her amber eyes. “You’re the best partner I could have ever gotten, Blake. And that’s exactly something Ruby is missing right now. If Weiss doesn’t wake up, I’m so kicking her ass till she does.” “I don’t think that will cheer Ruby up any better.” “Then I’ll kick her ass as well until they  _ both _ snap out of it!” Blake couldn’t help but burst out laughing at Yang’s impossibility. Yang smiled at Blake’s reaction. It was exactly what she needed. No matter the situation, seeing Blake laugh seemed to be her cure all remedy for it.


	10. Feelings burst through

Winter had woken up from her slumber. While still dizzy, she is updated on what has been going on in her absence. She makes her way to her office, still occupied by the drunken Qrow.

“I see you’ve brought your usual antics to my base.” Was Winter’s cold start as she entered without knocking through her own office’s door. “And a pleasure to see you too.” Qrow replied. “You know the guy you sent for me could have been given just a bit more intel than an emergency that involved the girls being injured. For all I knew, it was a trap.” He went on. “I knew you wouldn’t turn down anything involving your niece. It was a calculated move, the minimum amount to risk in case the intel was caught by another party.” Winter shot back. “Always the Ice Queen. So, how’s your sister, do they tell you anything they don’t to me?” Qrow, though drunk, could always switch to his more serious side. “She’s… Trying her best to recover. She could wake up as far as her vitals show, but…” The remaining silence was all Qrow needed to understand. “Look. She’s a tough kid. Ruby speaks about her all the time. She’ll wake up.” Qrow consoled Winter, though her sadness was concealed by the ever-so-well hidden expression she always wore while on duty. And she was always on duty. As was Qrow. The two shared a hidden bond through their peculiars. One was a specialist bound by duty and the Schnee even when private, the other a confidante to professor Ozpin that couldn’t work in teams due to his semblance. Both knew loneliness and the company such misery brought like no other. It was what formed the trust they shared, that simple understanding of each other and their circumstances. As such, Winter knew better than to be mad at Qrow for making such a promise. Whereas any other person would have said so out of obligational concern, she knew Qrow would do no such thing. If he truly believed Weiss would come out of her coma, then there had to be something backing it.

 

“You really put a lot of trust to what that...whimsical girl says.” Winter finally replied. She knew Ruby through her observations and whatever Weiss had told about her, but that was it. Her actual capability and ability as a leader were unknown. “Yeah. The kiddo’s an idiot, but I know better than to question anything she’s serious about. And she knows her partner, to an extend I feel is beyond that of a concern about a teammate.” Qrow stated, staring at Winter’s light blue eyes. “I sincerely hope you’re right. I…” Winter began. “It’s alright Ice Queen. I can see the mess that this is. I tried to keep the damages at minimum, and specifically instructed no one to make contact with the good ol’ general before you came to. I’ll let you handle the brunt of that paperwork.” Qrow cut in before letting Winter get too caught up with her emotions over her injured sister. “I appreciate your effort, Qrow Branwen.” She replied, slightly annoyed at the sheer thought of her having to explain all what had happened. “No need to get so official Winter. And know that I won’t be leaving till I know Ruby, Yang and the rest of the crew are on their merry way to where ever, so I wont be gone anytime soon.” Qrow replied with a wink. “Now why won’t you go take a rest while I sit here for the night, and then I’ll be happy to hand over the reigns back to you. I know when you’re acting tough, but you must be dying to eat and sleep right now, aren’t you. No shame in admitting one needs their rest after getting pumped out almost half of their blood.” Qrow finished, turning on his chair and putting his legs up on Winter’s desk and crossing his hands behind his head. This visibly irritated Winter, but with a sigh, she gave in. “I suppose you’re right. I doubt you’ll cause any further damage if I let you have another night before I return to face whatever mess you’ve conjured while I was gone.” She exhaled and turned on her heels. “Right you are. G’night Ice Queen. Thanks for saving them.” Qrow threw out before she made it out the door. “Just another mission, Qrow.” Winter threw back as she closed the door, smiling.

 

“RUBY ROSE!” “YOU INSUFFERABLE, IDIOTIC DOLT.” “HOW DARE YOU DO SUCH A THING!”. This was the voice Ruby woke up to, as her eyes took in the bright lights, her out of focus vision making out the silhouette of a petite creature with an awfully loud and high voice. If not for the words she spoke, Ruby would have thought it was a fairy. “YOU...stupid..I..thought I would die and now you did this and… and..!” The fairy began to cry, and Ruby felt guilt grip her insides. “...Weiss..? Am I..dreaming?” Ruby groaned, trying to get up, but felt her stomach flinch instead as it was decorated by a nasty wound that almost reopened under her grunts. She gave up and instead turned her head towards Weiss. She began to tear up as well as she saw her partner’s face. Weiss looked hurt and angry. Her complexion was more pale than usual and her lips lacked colour. Still beautiful to Ruby. She felt anguish rush her emotions as realization hit; she almost lost her, now not only once, but twice due to her own idiotic decisions. “No Ruby. You’re not dreaming. I am here, alive, and so are you. Despite that stupid thing you did. Oh yes, Qrow told me what you went and did, getting yourself almost killed. You can’t believe how terrible it was to wake up and that was the first thing I am told, that you went out because you couldn’t stay still till I recovered and..” Weiss began again before feeling her words being blocked by the rising emotions in her throat. “Weiss I… I am sorry. I was so worried, felt so guilty. I couldn’t stop thinking about what if you died. What if any of you had died…” “It doesn’t matter Ruby.” Weiss said coldly. “How can you say that?!” “Because we didn’t die. So it doesn’t matter. We are not made of “what if”s. We need our leader, one that knows how terrible small mistakes can be in battle. We’re not going to settle for anyone else.” Weiss spoke, maintaining her posture though it visibly tired her. “You could always get a more experienced one.” Ruby said in a small voice.  “No one knows our team better than you do, Ruby. You’re our leader, you’re the one who devised all of our group attacks. We can’t replace you. And we would never want to.”. “ _ I _ would never want to.” Weiss added as she finished. She had turned her head now, not able to meet Ruby’s eyes. “Weiss..” “Ruby please. I love you. Or does that not matt-” “I LOVE YOU TOO.” Ruby screamed back before Weiss could finish, her face now growing into a mixture of shock and surprise. “I.. tried to tell you back in the forest but you had already fainted and that made me feel even worse because then I thought you would never know I loved you and died thinking maybe I didn’t and it was horrible and then the Grimm attacked and I couldn’t save us and then..” Ruby’s silver eyes were flooding with tears as she let out everything she had been holding in these past few days in one incoherent stream. She had been fearing the worst for Weiss, thinking she would never get to see her alive again.

 

Weiss sat down on the side of Ruby’s bed and took her hand with both of hers. “Ruby look at me. If you truly mean what you say, then don’t runaway. Stay and be with us. With me.” Weiss’ voice soft as feather, fine as silk. Her eyes met with those of Ruby’s silver ones, quivering and red from all the crying. “Weiss I missed you so much. Please never get hurt like that again. Ever.” “All the more reason for you to stay with us then. We are not team RWBY without you.” “Would you stop lecturing me and please hug me already!” Ruby let out, frustrated, her face not keeping up with all the emotions running through her heart. “Oh you dolt..” Weiss replied before leaning in to embrace Ruby. Their hearts had yearned for this, and were pulling towards each other like magnets, their pulse rising in response. Weiss snuggled closer, Ruby made more room for her and so the two ended up laying side by side, holding each other close. “How are you feeling?” Ruby asked after they had stared at each other for who knows how long. “Fuzzy. My head doesn’t know if it hurts or feels wonderful. The wound is… Sore. The doctors told me nothing physically demanding for the next three weeks. What about you?” Weiss asked in return. “I don’t care, I have you here so I am fine.” Ruby replied with a dreamy gaze in her silver eyes glistening as she tried to photograph every moment to the depths of her mind. “You’re an impossible dolt.” Weiss said in a mixture of amusement and annoyance. “I had to be to get the impossible Ice Queen.” Ruby replied, landing a kiss on Weiss’ cheek which immediately took in colour and send her heart fluttering faster. The moment only took more heat as a knock came on the door and two girls burst through. “WEISS!!!!” Yang yelled without any concern for her still healing ribs. “You’re awake?! Why didn’t come tell u-. Oh. So that’s why..” Yang continued with her thought until she fully understood what was going on in the room. “Weiss! I’m happy you’re awake. We were so worried about you…” Blake added modestly from behind Yang. Weiss had gotten up slowly from the bed, minding her injury and made her way to both Blake and Yang for a hug. She felt embarrassed, but the joy of reuniting with her friends took over fast. The three shared a careful group hug, as all were still sore all over. “Thank you for rescuing me.” Weiss whispered, tears in her eyes. “You should have seen Yang. She was fierce like a mother tiger protecting us, I have never seen something like that.” Blake admired. “Shush you, if not for your speed there wouldn’t have been anything left to protect.” Yang replied. The three were content in their embrace until they could hear some murmur from behind them. “Looks like you three are just fine without a leader to mess things up…” Ruby pouted as she was left out. “Don’t you try Ruby Rose, you deserve this for doing something so stupid.” Weiss coldly tossed with a small smile, then turned around and circled Ruby’s bed as the stubborn leader had turned their back to the rest of her team. Blake and Yang soon joined Weiss and all, somehow, someway, managed to find themselves a seat on the sides of Ruby’s tiny hospital bed. “I can’t stay mad at you forever Ruby, but you have to know if you ever do that again I am seriously banning you from cookies for a year.” Yang warned with a stern voice before gently placing her hand on Ruby’s head and stroked her hair. “And I will tell Yang if I ever hear any suspicious noises coming from the kitchen.” Blake affirmed, holding back her smile in an effort to sound serious. “And I won’t buy you any strawberries!” Weiss added while holding Ruby’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Ruby, for probably the hundredth time within the past few days, felt tears running down her cheeks as she was basked in the love of her teammates. She tried to say something but only mumbles and sneezes would come out. The girls around her laughed at the sight and snuggled the small girl who felt flustered as three pairs of hands were petting her like she was a puppy just being introduced to a new family.


	11. Packing things up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final mini chapter to wrap things up for this story and lay the ground work for the next one that'll follow!

A week passed since then. Yang and Blake had mostly healed, the cast on Yang’s arm would be coming off in a few more days, but her ribs were almost new by now. Her aura kept surprising the military doctors and the blondie only smiled wide at them. Weiss had regained much of her strength as she had begun to eat with a good appetite, but was still strictly prohibited from lifting anything heavier than a plate, a rule well observed thanks to her overly protective sister. And Ruby, well, she would be fine as she had always thought after witnessing Weiss awake. Her wounds would heal by the time they were all ready to leave for Menagerie later, though no training or anything physical before that. As such, the whole team RWBY, in all of their excitement and drama filled days, had finally began to grow bored. The military base was not exactly light on restrictions and rules, so even going out could sometimes be a hassle. And so… A certain bright sunlight had just the perfect idea to make things fun again. “HEYOO!” Yang bust through the double doors. All of team RWBY had relocated to the same room with Yang and Blake now that nobody needed any special supervision or care. “What’s up Yang?” Ruby perked up. “I know you’re all bored, as is yours truly, sooo, I figured we could use with a change in location.” Yang began as she smiled at her team. “That sounds great Yang, but were kinda still not supposed to go anywhere. I could barely take on a single Grimm, nevermind a pack of them.” Weiss began, but could hear her own amusement in her voice. She knew, just as well as Blake who remained silent, that Yang was well aware of their situation. There had to be a twist in here. “I know I know, but what say you if we’d have, I dunno, one of the most badass hunters as our bodyguard? Who, by the way, is equally tired of lounging here as we are.” Yang hinted with a wry smile. “Uncle Qrow is coming with us?!” Ruby beamed immediately, regretting her excitement as her wounds reminded of themselves. “So where would we go?” Blake asked, her ears perking up at the thought of finally getting out. The military base had dull air and the people here weren’t exactly nice, much less to her as she was a Faunus. The only reason no one dared to say anything about it was the murderous intent they felt from Winter and Qrow when someone even mentioned anything about it. “Glad you asked Blakey!” Yang smiled at the girl, giving a wink and enjoying every bit of her ever-so slight blush she could get out as a reaction. “I’m sure you know, but the reason the forests here were so packed with Grimm was because of the White Fang, and...well, none of us were exactly in the chirpiest of moods.” Yang nodded at Ruby, who immediately looked down at her knees, feeling ashamed. A hand was placed on her right knee and in a heartbeat she felt better. Weiss may have been oblivious before, but now that they were more open, the heiress had turned out to be very well tuned into Ruby’s reactions. Ruby gave a smile to Weiss before Yang went on. “But now that things have settled down a bit, there’s hardly any left. The Schnee empire has also started their constructions, so they have military presence there as well, further cutting down the number of Grimm while also serving to distract them, leaving the rest of the forest pretty mellow. So much so that one uncle Qrow with a scythe is more than enough to make a camp by a nearby lake a success!” Yang finished, radiating her positivity to the rest of the group. Everyone looked at each other, smiling, content. Then nodded, got up, in such a synchronous way that Yang got a little taken back. “Uuuhhh, guysss…??” She took a step back as the three approached her. Yang’s back hit the door behind her as the three girls embraced her with a group hug. “Thank you Yang. You always take care of us, and I love you for that. We all do.” Blake said, snuggling her head against Yang’s neck, leaving the girl flustered from all the affection she was getting. “Yeah sis, thanks. Without you, we wouldn’t be alive.” Ruby let out with the smallest sigh as she hugged her sister tight, still minding her ribcage. “I would also like to thank you for being…you.” Weiss said in her rather political tone, but continued “And by that I don’t mean the reckless, party-fueled flirt, but the kind and genuinely caring warm mother figure you ever so often portray to all of us.” she finished, smiling genuinely and giving a gentle squeeze with her arms wrapped around Yang. “Uuh wow you guys!” Yang began, her hands first up in the air, but soon brought them down in an attempt to embrace all three. “I’m just happy you’re my team.” She said in a calm voice, and so the four stayed like that for a little while before giving some space to the cornered blondie. “Uhh well that was unexpected but..” Yang began with her joking voice, as if to make a pun in the moment, but then swallowed, and brought her gaze to meet all three. “I appreciate it. Thanks. Now let’s get to packing! Not like there is much to pack, but still, we’ll leave today because why not!” Yang picked up back her momentum she had earlier and the others couldn’t help but be swept by it. In no time, everybody was busying themselves with their slightly scattered belongings and were soon ready to get going. Team RWBY was about to set off for another adventure, soon to be it followed by their actual vacation to Menagerie, and they couldn’t keep their bustling down as they walked down the hallways, earning frowns from left and right, only to be met with a mean look from Qrow who led the four girls. At the gates they bid farewell to Winter, who made sure to threaten Qrow with every single curse she could summon should anything happen to the girls. And with that, the team was off to enjoy their hard earned holiday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading through and maybe see you in my next fic where the team will be finally spending their actual holiday. Less Grimms, more hugs! Kali will be there, maybe Sun and Neptune will make a cameo, I don't know, see you there!


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